Once a goody-two-shoes ...

I caught myself trying to be teacher's pet in class today. That would be the toddler music class the boy and I go to every Thursday. Most of the class is spent with everyone sitting or standing in a circle, singing, swaying, dancing, moving arms, acting like animals. Most of the boy's time is spent walking or running along the perimeter of the room, or leaning against a wall or door. This includes story time, where the kids are supposed to sit on a blanket and watch and listen to the teacher read a book. You can guess how that goes.

Standing when he should be sitting. What else is new?

I try not to stress out about his not paying attention or doing the thing everyone's doing. They say kids are paying attention and absorbing information, even if they're not doing the thing at the time. And he's generally not disruptive, nor is he the only one wandering the room.

Anyway, I guess today I was stressing a little about his blatant lack of attention to the story. I was sitting near the teacher (along with the other parents and one or two of the kids) and following along while Mr. Explorer roamed about. During the story, I made a comment about the crabs who were dancing the tango: One of them had a rose in its mouth, har har. The teacher responded, "I'm glad someone's paying attention," in a jokey way. I responded, "Well, I figure someone should be representing the family here."

With a bit of dismay, I realized I was reverting to good-student Angie, who couldn't bear it when fellow students would act up in class, and who would try to make up for it by being extra studious.

TV TONIGHT

Finished last night's "Key & Peele" and watched my favorite show, "Parks and Recreation." Also caught up on last night's "The Daily Show."

The boy's words

Not a complete list, but close. Words he says followed by the pronunciation. Those followed by a star are words he signs while speaking. He also does a handful of signs only (milk, all done, more, eat, change, sleep, help, wash hands).

cat "ca"
woof (means dog) "wuf," usually very softly
up "bup bup" *
down "dow"
close "go"
mama
dada
bye "byeee" *
shoes "see-oo" or "shoo"
sock "saw"
yogurt "wowoah"
tweet (means bird) "tee tee" or "caw caw" *
bus "bus!" or "bus?"
button "buh" or  "but"
ball "bah"
bath "ba" *
cereal "see-a" *
chair  "dee-oh" or "dare"
water "wawa"
keys "kee"
book "buh" *
please "peas" or "pea" or "bee" *
cold "co"
coat "co"
cracker "ca ca" *

TV TONIGHT

"Modern Family," "Suburgatory," "South Park" and half of "Key & Peele."

Election night tick-tock

8:27 p.m. The boy falls asleep. Election obsessing begins in earnest. Neil has chosen CBS on the TV, though we are muting judiciously.

9:00 p.m. I compare nytimes.com and washingtonpost.com for coverage of Maryland election results. I can't find Maryland results on the Post site, even after clicking "Latest election news from Md." On the Times site, I found it fairly quickly by going through the Senate link on the home page. Looks pretty.

9:05 p.m. Neil and I independently check to see when "The Daily Show" starts its coverage. Not till 11. Argh.

9:10 p.m. I suggest we switch to CNN. Neil says, "Really?" Well, people on Twitter have suggested CNN had surprisingly good coverage.

9:15 p.m. Neil says he's changing the channel. I can't dispute the choice. On to NBC and Chuck Todd.

9:17 p.m. Warming up bake-sale brownies (proceeds went to Red Cross for Sandy) for brownie a la mode.

9:29 p.m. I finally found the Maryland election results page on the Post site. It's in that "In the news" banner, which I completely ignored because it was above a banner ad. Took too many clicks for my taste. Also, the link said "Md. polls," though someone just smartly changed it to "Md. results."

9:31 p.m. Okay, I'm loving the live camera on the Post newsroom. So much drama. Who's gonna take the last cupcake?

9:35 p.m. Chuck Todd says, "It's now just Ohio away for the president." Toe tapping.

9:37 p.m. Cat is not amused by the coverage (photo at left).

9:52 p.m. Catching up on Twitter on my phone. As Romney's path to victory continues to tighten. Highlight, retweeted by Patton Oswalt, by @anylaurie16: "Romney keeps winning states he would never own a house in."

10:05 p.m. Marcus Brauchli and Liz Spayd standing with others in the hub on the Post live cam. Also, the cupcakes appear to have been replaced with chocolate cake or brownies.


10:07 p.m. Pleased that my home state, Indiana, didn't pick Richard Mourdock. Still feel bad for Richard Lugar. Also happy that Missourians appear to have rejected Todd Akin. The world is making sense for once!

10:10 p.m. The boy stirs on the monitor. "Too excited to go to sleep," says Neil.

10:30 p.m. Reassured myself that Obama doesn't need Florida, Ohio and Virginia to win. Same-sex marriage referendum in Maryland too close for my taste: 52 to 48 percent with 8 percent reporting.

10:35 p.m. Popcorn and juice time. It's getting wild up in here.

11:03 p.m. Oh, thank goodness for "The Daily Show." "And me, Patrick Stewart. ... Make it so!"

11:11 p.m. Ooh, some sort of American flag dessert now on table by Post's hub. Also potato chips. Fuel for the final stretch! Gotta say, so glad I'm here in my pajamas on our couch.

11:16 p.m. Okay, switching to NBC to see confirmation of Ohio and the election going to Obama. He just tweeted a thank-you to his followers.

11:24 p.m. Still on pins and needles over Maryland's Question 6, marriage equality. COME ON.

11:42 p.m. Switched to Fox News out of curiosity. Rove is still hanging on to hope, anchors are calling him cuckoo.

11:45 p.m. Switched away from Fox News. That's all we could take.

11:56 p.m. Still no Question 6 results, though someone on Facebook said it passed, without citing a source. Fingers crossed.

12:01 a.m. Cat approves of Obama win.

12:05 a.m. Sigh of relief. Marriage equality approved in Maryland! Now I can sleep easy.

Voting for equality, of course

I'm excited to vote tomorrow. There's a lot on the line in Maryland, including a referendum on same-sex marriage. It's a shame it's even an issue, but I'm glad to have a say.

My friend Nathan pointed out a story in The New York Times last week, about how more straight couples are incorporating support for same-sex marriage in their wedding ceremonies. It's great that that's happening, but I couldn't help rolling my eyes at the story because we did that very thing, oh, THREE years ago.

During our wedding planning, I searched online for something like a poem that would convey support for marriage equality. It turned out that lots of folks had used excerpts from the 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling that said same-sex couples have the right to marry. What's great about the excerpt we used (read by Nathan, as it happens) is that it's simply about marriage and its importance to society. And it's clear that the sex of each person shouldn't make a difference in that. Here is what we used:

Marriage is a vital social institution. The exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support; it brings stability to our society. For those who choose to marry, and for their children, marriage provides an abundance of legal [and] financial benefits. ...

Marriage also bestows enormous private and social advantages. [It] is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity and family. ... Because it fulfills yearnings for security and connection that express our common humanity, ... marriage is an esteemed institution, and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life's momentous acts of self-definition.

The benefits accessible only by way of a marriage license are enormous, touching nearly every aspect of life and death. ... It is undoubtedly for these ... reasons, as well as for its intimately personal significance, that civil marriage has long been termed a "civil right." Without the right to marry, one is excluded from the full range of human experience.

May 23, 2009. Stevensville, Maryland.

TV TONIGHT

Normally we would have watched "How I Met Your Mother," but the DVR failed to record it. Instead we watched our latest Netflix DVD, "The Avengers." It was freaking awesome! And I'll leave it at that.

The 'L' word

I love this little guy.

My friend Rachel recently wrote on her blog that her daughter, who was born seven weeks after the boy, said "I love you." My heart swelled just reading about it. Then I realized that those are three words I don't say to our little guy very often. Isn't that terrible? I think this stems from my upbringing; it simply isn't a phrase that comes easily to me, and most of the time I feel it goes without saying.

A while back I panicked because I thought the boy didn't know what kisses were because I wasn't kissing him enough. He eventually learned, and now when I say "kiss," he'll either place his lips on my cheek or put his palm on my mouth (helping me blow a kiss). So hopefully he will not become emotionally stunted or unable to express his feelings. I'm assuming he'll grow out of the hand-on-mouth thing.

I'm not panicking about "I love you" just yet. His latest words are "cracker," which he also sort of signs, and "pup" for "poop." I'll take it.

TV TONIGHT

We caught up on "Saturday Night Live." I know it's cool to think the show's not as funny as it used to be, but I like some of the new actors: Nasim Pedrad, Kate McKinnon, Taran Killam, Vanessa Bayer. The big draw for this episode was Louis C.K., who is one of my favorite entertainers right now and also a really good guy. We didn't fast-forward through any of the sketches, so that must mean it was a good episode. The highlight was Louie as Lincoln.

Feeling crafty

I helped host a baby shower today for a woman in my book club and her husband. Party hosting (really hosting of any kind) usually makes me extremely anxious, but this time it wasn't so bad, probably because it was at someone else's house. Here are a couple of things I did today that were out of my comfort zone:

Cut up a pineapple. I was all set to get pre-cut-up pineapple at the store but couldn't find any. So I got a whole pineapple and watched a YouTube video on how to cut it. Turns out it's not scary or painful! Unexpected tip: Place the pineapple upside-down in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before cutting to let the sugariness flow down into the whole fruit.

Created a scallop border along the tops of the party-favor bags. I am not crafty. I do not knit. I get stressed out at the idea of creating something. But I volunteered to put together the favor bags because ... heck, I don't know. Because it seemed easy and unrelated to food preparation? Fill bags with candy, done and done. But then I saw these on Etsy and thought that maybe the bags should look nice. So I ordered some personalized stickers from Tiny Prints, then I cut a crude version of that scallop border into 24 yellow bags from Amazon. I think they turned out pretty well!

Random baby shower realization: Turns out I have a knack for baby-shower games. This was the second shower in a row where I won the first game played -- and I wasn't even trying that hard! Usually I'm pretty competitive with games, but these are generally luck-based, so there's not much pride at stake. At the previous shower (for my friend Andy), I won on a tiebreaker by guessing a number between 1 and 20!

TV TONIGHT

We caught up on this week's two episodes of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report." Too tired after the baby shower to watch anything with a plot.

Being a stay-at-home mom

It's the question I get asked most these days: "How do you like being a stay-at-home mom?" My answer is always, "It's great!" Then I feel the need to temper that with, "But it's also exhausting." It's complicated, as life is. Here are my thoughts.

Leaving my job was absolutely the right decision. I don't have any regrets about leaving The Post. I miss the people, and I miss editing. But my job was much more than simply editing, and a lot of that other stuff could be stressful and added to my work-life-balance anxiety. Am I 100 percent fulfilled in life now? Er, I wouldn't say that. But I'm much happier than I was when I was working, and I haven't given up on reaching that 100 percent.

Toddler squat.

The boy is a good kid; we are very lucky. Of course we have good moments and bad moments, good days and bad. But overall the little guy is pretty great to be around. He sleeps well during the day and at night. He's careful, so I don't worry too much about him hurting himself or putting things in his mouth he shouldn't. (If he finds a choking hazard on the ground, he hands it to me first!) He's pretty good at playing by himself. And he knows enough signs and words to tell us what he wants most of the time.

He's even been eating better lately. That has been our main area of concern. I wish he drank more milk and ate a wider variety of foods, but I'm stressing about that less. He's also started insisting on being carried for long stretches ("bup, bup, bup!"), especially when I'm trying to relax or get chores done. Sigh.

House chores are a drag. I have no idea how the laundry and dishes got done when I was working, because it takes all the energy I have to do them now. I'm also cooking more often, which is a big change. I've never been keen on doing anything in the kitchen beyond boiling water and scrambling eggs. Tonight I made salmon (overcooked, too salty, too many bones) with green beans (too many herbs) and rice (perfect, thanks to the rice cooker). I suppose I feel a sense of accomplishment; mostly I'm just exhausted.

The play group is a lifesaver. The moms in this group -- all strangers before the boy was born -- are smart, funny and nice. I'm so lucky to see them once a week, and more often if I manage to schedule play dates or playground outings. Because of them and other mom friends, I don't feel starved for adult conversation, or whatever the cliche is. Oh, and it's good for the boy to socialize, too, but mostly I appreciate the regular sanity checks.

I miss my friends. I haven't seen my non-mom friends enough. Need to work on that.

I get to nap almost every day. This has to be one of the best perks of the job. Yes, instead of doing chores, I usually choose to snooze when the boy is napping. I feel a little guilty and lazy about it, but many days I need the shut-eye to stay functional.

I miss days off.

I am grateful for Neil. He's great with the boy and has been a terrific partner in this parenthood adventure. He has been completely supportive of the staying-home decision (he was more sure than I was), which has made it so much easier. And because of his flexible schedule, he can take care of the boy a lot. One of the best parts of every day is overhearing them at bath time and bedtime, both cracking up.

TV TONIGHT

We don't watch any Friday shows, so we caught up a bit on the DVR. "Modern Family" isn't as good as its first season, and most of the characters annoy me, but we watch out of habit. "The League" was gross but funny enough. And "Key & Peele" was an amusing palate cleanser, particularly Luther, the Obama anger translator.

Here we go again (maybe)

My very funny friend Jessica is taking part in this thing where folks are encouraged to write one blog post a day (I can't bear to type the official name; see badge at right). She is one of my favorite writers, so in solidarity I'm taking the plunge as well. 

This will be hard for me because I hate writing. I know this isn't an original stance. The main problem for me is that I'm an editor, not a writer. There's a huge difference between filling a blank page and working with something that's written. I made a living out of the latter until about four months ago. But this ... . This is torture. I write something, or even just think of something to write, and the editor in me immediately nixes it as boring, cliche, oversharing, overwrought or a waste of space. It's enough to make someone give up ever blogging again.

So if I quit this blog again, you'll know why.

Until then, I'll try to write a bit about what's on my mind, life as a stay-at-home mom and of course my favorite little dragon:

TV TONIGHT

Thursday is the day I look forward to all week because "Parks and Recreation" is on. It brings me so much joy. Please watch it! Except you couldn't tonight, because NBC showed a repeat of "The Voice" that didn't air earlier in the week in some places because of Sandy. Harrumph. At least there's a new episode of "The League," but it's hard to wait until 10:30 for your first big laughs of the night.

We did watch Wednesday night's "30 Rock," which we managed to record only because (ahem) we have a season pass to "Animal Practice." Mock if you will, but that monkey (Annie's Boobs!) is so cute and hilarious! After the first two episodes, we watched by fast-forwarding through all but the monkey scenes.

Two weeks to go

I'm thinking of starting up the blog again. You've been warned. You can catch up a bit with my Tumblr, which I started before I realized what Tumblr was. Now I think Blogger is the better way to go. We'll see.

My last day of work is two weeks from today. I'd been feeling really excited about it, but over the past few days a panic has set in. I know it'll all be okay, but I can't help thinking, "Oh my god, what have I done?" Or: "I've made a huge mistake."

The little guy is 1 year and 22 days old today. I can't wait to spend each day with him. And I'm a little freaked out about it. I don't have a plan yet, by design. Same goes for the blogging.

If you let me know you're reading by leaving a comment or @replying me on Twitter, that just might encourage me to keep at it! Would love to hear from friends old and new.

Oh god, I just saw the most recent post on this blog. What a silly girl.

Perhaps a Burlap Sack -- in Ivory, of Course

Ugly. Hideous. Scary.

That was my reaction to most of the wedding gowns I saw on my shopping trip yesterday. The offending stores: Jessica McClintock and Macy's. The latter was the biggest letdown. Kendra, Mary and I trekked out to Tysons Corner Center on our dress mission, only to find that we needed to go to Tysons Galleria, the schmancier mall across the street, for Macy's bridal salon. Turns out there are two Macy's in Tysons. Of course.

By this time we'd been shopping for two hours and I'd yet to try on anything. (That period is a blur, except for Kendra buying cute purple shoes and me having a California roll.) Then finally, the Macy's sa-LON: a sea of ruffles, rosettes and poufy skirts you could shelter small children under. The only dress even close to what I was looking for was meh. We left.

The first ray of hope came at BCBGMaxAzria, despite its ridiculously long run-together name. I tried on a cream evening gown in light, flowy silk. I'm not sure it's the right look for me (really want straps), but it felt great.

Then after a lot of cursing at drivers on my part and finding directions on Kendra's part, we made our way to David's Bridal in Rockville. I had pretty low expectations for the place, and it pretty much met them. I mean, I didn't hate it, but I don't want to go back. Here are the dresses I tried on there:


A couple of halters.


No bra with this one, yowza! Also, cool back.


Kinda heavy on top; too big for me.

For the most part, I liked how these looked okay, but not how they felt. Even with the flowy skirt styles, they were pretty heavy. Lots of layers of who-knows-what. I guess my fave would be the first halter, if it came in a lighter, less-stiff fabric.

Really, what I want is not a wedding dress. Just an evening gown I would normally wear that happens to be white. For less than $500? I worry that's not possible, especially when I throw in all my other requirements: straps, no satin, sheath, no lace, flowy skirt, no heavy fabric. Sigh. The worst part: I hate that I'm stressing so much over a frickin' dress.

I Found My Dress*

* Too bad there is no way I could ever find and/or afford it. Sigh.

Seen on the season premiere of "Gossip Girl" (with which I have a like-hate relationship). Identified as Oscar de la Renta (Spring 2008) thanks to Teamsugar.

The Rest of You: Off the Hook!

Two of my good pals, Beth and Kendra, will stand with me during the wedding ceremony. I suppose that makes them "bridesmaids," but I don't really like the term. "Matron of honor" is even worse! Not sure what the alternatives would be, though. Deputy bride? Assistant to the regional manager?

We considered not having any wedding party, actually. I was okay with the idea until Vibha pointed out that I might feel more comfortable with some friends up there when all eyes are on us. Plus I like the idea of kinda deputizing them so they have to listen to all of my wedding talk.

I have other dear friends who could have filled the bridesmaid role just as ably, and you guys know I love ya. But since we're trying to keep things simple, I decided that two would do. As for the bachelorette party, that's a whole different story ... . It's all very tentative for now, but we're thinking of doing it the Thursday before the wedding. Will keep you posted!

When and Where

We picked a venue! The wedding ceremony and reception will be at Kent Manor Inn, on Kent Island in the Chesapeake Bay. It's just on the other side of the Bay Bridge from Annapolis, about an hour from where we live.

We'll be able to have an outdoor ceremony (fingers crossed) that's by some water, a tributary of the bay. And the reception building, in an octagon shape, is nice, with tables circling a central dance floor. I also love the outside of the inn -- will be good for pictures! The food, done by the inn's restaurant, has gotten good reviews; we'll find out ourselves at the tasting in a few months.

It's not perfect. I can't say I'm a fan of the inside (a little too "historic" for my taste). And the grounds, while lovely, are a little sparse, with mostly grass, a few trees and some cattails, which Neil refers to as "overgrown brush." A good sign: There's corn on the edge of the property ... reminds me of home in Indiana! Hey, I carry no illusions of having a "perfect" wedding anyway. Just want it to be nice and allow people have a good time.

Oh yeah, the date. We'll be tying the knot Saturday, May 23, over Memorial Day weekend. Nine months and counting!

Let the Wedding Blogging Begin

Yeah, I did it. Took part in Filene's Basement's infamous Running of the Brides and lived to tell the tale (though came home empty-handed). Here is what I learned:

• Ya gotta have a posse. Kendra deserves a medal for all the begging, cajoling, hawking, hunting and helping me into dresses. (Not to mention being my photographer while weighed down with so many plastic bags and frocks.) But we needed more bodies, more hands. And I've already been chastised for not inviting Catherine and Melissa. What can I say? I couldn't imagine anyone else wanting to get up at dawn to take part in this insanity. Next time, ladies. ;)
• Strapless could be okay. I had previously ruled it out. It's a beautiful look, but I feel straps are more me. Still, if I had to wear the Nicole Miller gown at right, I wouldn't complain.
• I do enjoy how poofy skirts make me feel like a princess, but a sheath is more my style. Sadly, poofy seemed to be all I could get my hands on. A few exceptions shown below.
• Long train = ridiculous.
• No dress that weighs more than I do (or seems like it).
• People are intense about wedding gowns, man. That's why I didn't have too-high expectations for this. Other folks wanted a dress out of it way more than I did.

Enough talk. Here are some of the ones I tried on:


1) I'm a princess! 2) I like the simplicity of this, but maybe too simple?


3) Not a fan of the tiers, but this one has the flowiness I'm looking for. 4) Like the shape, but not sure I want to go the shiny-fabric route.


5) Halter! Not bad, not bad. 6) Feeling a little punchy after trying on 20-plus dresses. Also, wtf is up with those half-circles in the chestal area, really!?

My fave. I wouldn't choose spaghetti straps, but these seemed to work. Only problem (aside from wrinkliness) was the tightness around the knee area. I wouldn't be able to do the Electric Slide. Plus, by this time we'd been there more than two hours and I just wanted to escape. I'm glad I went, though; it was exhausting yet fun. The dress search continues ...

Local Establishments, Beware

Word comes from DCist and post.com's Going Out Gurus that Adams Morgan restaurant San Marco has closed. This is significant because it's the third D.C. establishment to fold that was part of the genesis of the Neil-Angie relationship.

The first time I realized Neil was interested in me (and when I allowed myself to see him as more than just a friendly acquaintance) was after he, our friend Vibha and I had dinner at San Marco, an Italian place. (This, by the way, was back when we had a bottle of wine with every meal. Little did I know that that was only part of the wooing stage.) Vibha conveniently had an event to attend after the check arrived, so for the first time it was just the two of us.

He walked me the few blocks home to my apartment off U Street, and as we reach the corner where we'd normally part ways, I said, "Well, see ya later!" and prepared to call it a night. He stood there and sort of shufffled, as if he was thinking of something to say. I can still see him, all bundled up because it was February, though I don't remember the cold.

"We should get coffee."

"Oh! Okay!"

He suggested Sparky's (CLOSED), a few blocks south on 14th Street, an independent cafe that looked straight out of any college town. We ordered two hot cocoas ("Whipped cream?" "Oh, yes."), sat in a booth and chatted, me flush with the excitement of "omigosh he likes me!" We ended up setting a brunch date for that Sunday (this was back when I worked nights and weekends).

So on our official first date, we ate at Busboys and Poets (still open, whew), then proceeded to walk all the way down 14th Street to the Mall. On the way, we stopped at Candida's World of Books (CLOSED), a travel bookstore -- partly to escape the cold, partly because it was such a cool little independent shop. I remember looking out the front windows and seeing the snow come down.

First Sparky's, then Candida's, now San Marco. I don't think Busboys is in trouble, but it's sad that all those spots that I think of so fondly are gone. Okay, that's enough sentimentality for one post. Hey, I can't help it: Having this ring on my finger, plus attending a wedding this weekend, has brought out the squishy side in me. Sigh.

Colbert Nation ... in France

Last set of pics from France, including our best meal of the trip, in Cholet, and a lovely afternoon in the gardens of Villandry chateau. We ended up in Tours, where we stayed at the Hotel Colbert (yes, booked there because of the name). Wonderful time overall. Hope to go back soon!

Le Tour Toujours

Here's part three of my France photos, all in Nantes for the finish of Stage 3 of the Tour de France, a 208-kilometer race from St. Malo. It wasn't exactly an epic rain-soaked journey, but we had to pull out the umbrellas a few times. I gotta say this was a big highlight of the trip for me. We were so psyched to see all the stuff we'd only viewed on TV. It was all so unexpected, I couldn't help but have fun.

A warning: The slide show is a ton of pictures of all the random stuff we saw while we waited for five hours, then four shots of the actual race. That's a pretty good approximation of our experience, come to think of it. I slaved over captions for this album, too. It would warm my heart if you clicked through to see 'em.



Part four coming soon ...

P.S. Bonus points for anyone who gets the joke hidden in this post.

In a World of Pain au Chocolat

I've been a wee bit distracted, so please forgive me for this brief account of our France trip. We were there July 2-9 and had a wonderful time. I truly believe I could live there; love being around the language, the culture, the pastries.

I'm experimenting with Picasa's embed-a-slide-show feature. Let's see how it works. These are pics from Paris, Chenonceau chateau and the Leonardo da Vinci museum in Amboise. Be sure to put your mouse over the little speaking-bubble icon to read the captions. (Those things don't write themselves, ya know.) Better yet, click on the Picasa icon to go to the regular-size Web album:



Part Deux: Celebration for Francois and Corinna's third anniversary and Victor's first birthday, in the countryside near Cholet.

The event featured Vibha giving a presentation on the compatibility of Francois and Corinna (as well as Victor) according to the Indian horoscope (way more accurate than the Western one). I (gulp) had to translate some of it. I had lots of help.



Stay tuned for Parts Trois et Quatre ...

Engaged!

Neil popped the question today, and I said yes! The short version of the story: We went out on a bike ride early this morning, our regular route up Beach Drive in Rock Creek Park. After about 15 miles, we took a break at our usual grassy patch in Bethesda. Neil walked off a bit, obtsensibly to shake out his legs. I stayed put to stretch, and when I looked up -- surprise! -- he was walking toward me with a purple duffel bag. It was filled with a beach towel, Pringles, Gatorade, two plastic tumblers and a packet of tissues. We sat down, he pulled out a sparkly ring and, well, you know the rest!

Here I am re-creating the teary moment. I needed just one tissue, thank you.

My left biking glove went back on after this -- extra protection. Had trouble keeping this smile off my face. At one intersection on the ride home, Neil looked at me and said, "I could probably get you to ride a century today." Alas, my leg muscles weren't able to sustain the joy, turning against me not long after that. Made it home all right ... and happy.

New York City, Center of the Universe

Belated pictures from my trip to New York over Memorial Day weekend. Kendra and I rode a bus up to visit Andy, who made the leap to the Big City to work for the Gray Lady. No, we are not jealous.

A clearer view of "Balloon Dog (Yellow)" by Jeff Koons, one of his three pieces on the Roof Garden of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Andy got us in free with his New York Times ID. No, we are not jealous.

"Sacred Heart (Red/Gold)": I liked it cuz it was red. That's Central Park in the background.

This one was just whack. From the Met's Web site:

A page from a Winnie the Pooh coloring book featuring Pooh’s companion Piglet was the genesis of "Coloring Book." Koons took a magic marker to the page and colored in various zones; in the fabrication of the sculpture, he removed Piglet from the composition, which resulted in this abstraction rendered in cheerful pastel colors.

Lobby of the new New York Times building. This is an installation titled "Movable Type," which consists of little screens that show words that have appeared in the Times or on its Web site. This story has way better pictures, plus a video! No, we are not jealous.

Of course, no Wu travelogue would be complete without some food porn. Giant Chinese chicken salad about to crush my head! Just down the street from Andy's apartment in Hell's Kitchen. No, we are no jealous.

French toast the size of your head! Courtesy of Landmarc in Tribeca. They call it "pain perdu," literally "lost bread." Soaked overnight in eggy goodness. No, we are not hungry anymore.

In all seriousness, I'm perfectly happy not living in New York and working at the Times. I would have loved it in my wanton 20s, but Washington has treated me pretty well. And it's not like I'm working at a rag. Yet.