Graduation Reflection

Hubs and I just got back from an amazing week in our nation's capital going to visit a very dear friend of mine graduate with her masters in international relations from Johns Hopkins.  It was a fantastic week filled with friends, wonderful sights, and some fantastic food and bars!  It was also --surprisingly-- a week of reflection.  Between the astounding collections at the Smithsonian museums, the majestic national monuments, stately federal buildings, and the Johns Hopkins commencement ceremony, I was left reflecting on how I'll make a mark on the world. 

I read a quote somewhere that well behaved women rarely make history. This thought keeps running through my mind as I watched my friend acomplish something extraordinary.  This is a troubling quote because I generally like to play safe.  My father-in-law made a comment this winter while we were skiing (an outdoor activity that generally terrifies me) that "unless you're scared and falling down every once in a while you're not pushing yourself hard enough."  Aargh!  None of these thoughts are comforting to my sense of self-preservation, but they do inspire me to take a step into the unknown and to continue to push myself towards exellence.

Physically, I'm exhausted.  (DC requires comfy shoes, a water bottle, and not a few packed Luna bars.) Intellectually and spiritually I'm inspired and refreshed.  This was a fantastic week and I wouldn't give it back for anything. 

Whole Earth Weekend

Davis is such a fun place to visit during Whole Earth Festival. Hippies come out to dance and sing about environmental issues. "For the next 250,000 years, whatcha gonna do with that stuff?" referring of course to nuclear waste. Vendors sell yummy vegetarian food and the plates are all sturdy plastic plates that you pay a dollar for and then return when you are finished to get that dollar back. What a genius way to limit waste. I bought a hippie necklace, which has a small piece of clay with "peace" written on the back in Japanese and a pretty design on the front. There were hippies dancing in the center of the square and tie dye everywhere. Normally I would object to any form of tie dye, but at the Earth Festival, I decided it was acceptable. I really liked the vendor who was selling beautiful capes that you could lift to look like butterfly wings. Very Earthy. The entire festival was just what you would expect from Davis.

Disneyland - my most recent "grown-up" trip

My husband & I went to Disneyland this weekend, which is flooded with adorable little kids running around experiencing the Magic Kingdom for the very first time.  A lot of our conversations started with "when we have kids..."  and --after witnessing the cute little kids have a complete meltdown-- our conversations ended with "... but that won't be for a looooong time."  Disneyland is the place for imagination and dreams...and that's exactly where I'd like to leave our children for now.  Instead of lugging our tired kid-on-a-leash around, we hit up our hotel happy hour, lounged by the pool, and went on every single ride that had a height and heart-health restriction.  As long as we steered clear of Fantasyland we were generally having a blissful newlywed vacation.

Here are a few shots of our romantic getaway!

Design your own Handbag!

I am thrilled about this new website I found called Elemental Threads. I discovered it because they are offering a Trubates coupon to pay $17 and recieve $52 worth of designed bag. Shipping is $8. All the bags can be completely personalized to whatever design you want. They have options for Organic Cotton, Cotton, Tweed, Canvas, and Bamboo. All the fabrics are fun colors or great designs. The bags have customizable zippers and linings to match what ever you like. You can also send in old t-shirts, jackets, or blankets that you don't use anymore for them to repurpose your fabric into a unique handbag or pouch. I just might buy one of these beauties myself! very chic and fun!

iPad 2!

Yes, it's true.  My company is buying me an iPad 2.  I'm so excited!  The $700 expense is not mine to bear!  Delivery is scheduled for 5/11.  I am counting down the days.  I plan on receiving the following benefits:

1. I'll look cool
2. Won't have to take my work laptop home every single night - my handbag and shoulder is looking forward to this!
3. In this same vein of thought - Martha Stewart magazines are all available at the iTunes store!  No more lugging my 12 different magazines! 
4. I'll be able to access work applications from the convenience of my tablet. 
5. I'll get to play with FaceTime technology
6. Did I mention I'll (finally) be cool? 

In case you're wondering, I got the white one and bought a pink cover for it.  :-)  

LA - A belated Post

I'm waiting in LAX for my flight to San Jose.  This has been an eye-opening trip for me.  Here's a list of the things I've learned:

• There was no sour cream available for my colleague's quesadilla at the hotel.. Presumably because it has calories.
• All the women are very thin and very tan.  (I kind of stuck out.. It's time to get back on the elliptical and make an appointment for my airbrush tan…) 
• The weather actually is quite fabulous here.  Although I think the entire state got hit with some gorgeous California sunshine this week. 
• It turns out there really ARE small dogs everywhere.  The mini poodle at breakfast today was adorable. 
• I found out what "so LA" means - the woman who came with the mini poodle at breakfast looked like Gwen Stefani with her bright lipstick, bleached hair, sunglasses, and tats.  Her boyfriend was just as stereotypical in his black cotton tee-shirt, jeans, un-shaven face and Ray Bans circa 1993.  It was kind of awesome. 
• The valets & bell boys are hot - presumably they are actors looking for their big break.
• The (young) women in the service industry are bitches - presumably they are suffering from hypoglycemia. 
• The cab drivers are cranky old men who refuse to join the 20th century (not even the 21st century) and accept credit cards. 
• There are a lot of smokers in LA - gross!
• I learned that downtown LA isn't as dirty as I thought it was.. At least during the day.  At night men leer at you from open-window bars… turns out ignoring them and walking quickly is sufficient.   
• Don't settle for crappy food.  There are TONS of great places to eat (and drink).  Had some REALLY good cocktails here. 

Hawaiian Vacation

This past spring break, I took a trip to Hawaii's big island with the parents and experienced some great things, like colorful fish, a steaming volcano, and delicious restaurants. The hotel we stayed at provided us with some magazines listing fantastic restaurants in the area but on our own, we found some great restaurants. Jackie Rey's was by far the best restaurant of the trip, decorated in cute Hawaiian decor and delicious fish straight from the ocean outside, it really completed the Hawaii experience. One disappointment was that we drove to Hawi at the tip of the island in search of the best restaurant, called Bamboo, according to our concierge but when we found it, they were closed! However, the town of Hawi was very cute with retro Hawaiian souvenirs. Maybe worth the long drive from Kona. Kikaua beach is where we found great snorkeling, and according to my magazine, is the best snorkel spot on the big island.Here we saw sea turtles, and many colorful fish without going very far out.If you aren't in the mood for a touristy restaurant, Ultimate Burger is where you want to be. truly worthy of it's name, this burger joint blows in-n-out away. Mauna Kea is not worth the 1.5 hour drive unless you are a mountain or astronomy fanatic and go all the way up. But, it is still interesting that it is the largest mountain in the world base to top. Hilo is on the wet side of the island and looks very tropical and rainforesty. the nearby volcano and water falls are worth visiting with a lava tube to walk through, steam spewing out of the ground and the most beautiful plants. However, be ready for lots of rain. We also took a glass bottom boat ride and saw a couple sea turtles.