I met the cutest dog in my neighborhood today, a cross between a Bichon Frise and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Apparently, the "Cavachon" is a registered breed with the American Canine Hybrid Club, not that I ever knew the club existed. So very cute!I predict this will be the next big hybrid since the "Puggle," which I also love. Coincidentally, Sam the Cavachon was playing with Greta the Puggle when we met.
If you're a night owl . . . tonight the sky will look like it has two moons. The planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky throughout August, and it will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye tonight when it comes within 34.65M miles of Earth. If you're awake, be sure to watch the sky at 12:30 am. It will look like the earth has 2 moons. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Share this with your friends as NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will ever see it again! It's also a lunar eclipse tonight.
I feel I have to make my own public statement about Michael Vick, who today plead guilty to dogfighting charges. Being a long-time dog owner and animal lover, I find the man to be a disgusting, depraved, inhuman, son of a bitch. I hope he rots in jail, and encounters the same cruel treatment that he inflicted on those poor dogs who didn't want to fight. He is a monster, and I feel very sorry for his family. If he were my father, brother, or son, I would be ashamed to be associated with him. It's too bad this crime doesn't carry the death penalty. I know this is all very harsh, but I'm really angry and disturbed about this story, and felt the need to vent. At least for once justice is being served, and a celebrity is not wrangling out of punishment.
I didn't get a chance to make a post about this before I left, but I've been "away" all week at our annual conference. It was held in DC, so it was local, but due to the early morning staff meetings (5:30 am) and inevitable late night receptions, dinners, etc., the entire staff stayed on site. Thank God. Let me just say that I was dreading the whole experience, especially the 4:30 am wake-up calls, and I wasn't let down. It was an exhausting, excruciating, stressful week and I'm so thankful it's over. When I got home yesterday at noon, I plopped myself in front of the tv and didn't move all day, taking a couple of naps along the way. I feel much better today and have the day off tomorrow, so that will be good. I'm just hoping I don't catch whatever bug poor Jeffro--who had to deal with the dogs all week--was striken by. There were some funny conference moments, including a fun closing reception at Lucky Strike, but overall I'm glad the conference only happens once a year.
Jeffro and I went to the Keith Urban concert last night at the Verizon Center. One word: amazing! He has obviously recovered well from his rehab problems earlier this year, and even made reference to that in the concert, thanking everyone for their support and especially his wife. He even dedicated a song to her. His voice was excellent--no studio overproduction for Keith! What you hear on the CD is what you get live. His guitar playing was really complex, and the band was excellent too. They obviously have a lot of fun together. He played longer than scheduled, cause the crowd was so rowdy and fun. At one point he asked us to do the wave with our camera phones. My favorite song was "Tonight I Want to Cry" which he did solo, playing the piano. A couple of girls near me were in tears.
The craziest part of the whole show was the camerawork. Really high-tech stuff going on all night, projected on a huge screen behind the stage that really focused in on the guitar work and of course, Keith's face. As Jeffro said, he always knew where the camera was. The camera work was quite impressive. And the best part about the whole show? Since they had all these cameras, and our seats were apparently behind one of the cameras, they upgraded us to sit literally four rows from the stage! It was awesome! I felt very lucky, and even got a couple of photos with my cell phone camera, so we'll have to see if those turn out--and if I can figure out how to download them. All in all, an amazing show with Keith at the top of his game! The Wreckers opened the show, and they were quite good too. That previously unknown Jessica Harp has a mighty powerful voice.
I finally got a chance to Simpsonize myself. You can try it too at www.simpsonizeme.com. Pretty fun stuff! I've had a long day--10 hours at work before our conference next week plus working at home, so I'm easily amused tonight.
Jeffro and I have finally booked a vacation for this year! We're going away in September to Ocean Edge Resort, suggested to us by our friend NOAAgirl. I'm so excited! I can't wait to get away. It's in Cape Cod, and I've never been to the beach in the Northeast, so this should be an adventure. There are a lot of cute towns nearby, which will provide some fun day trips and diversions.
I just got my hair cut today, and while I like the guy that cuts my hair, I can't stand that he smokes. And like, right before he cuts my hair so he's all reeking and doesn't wash his hands. So I feel like he's touching my newly-shampoo'd hair, which I have to tip someone for, and running smoky grossness through it. I think I smell smoke now! But what to do, you can't exactly ask the hairdresser to wash his hands, how awkward!
Jeffro and I participated in DC restaurant week tonight by going to Willow, where we were supposed to have gone for Valentine's Day but didn't cause that's when my sister first got sick and I went to FL. We both had Sea Scallops with Eggplant Ravioli, Shiitake Mushrooms & Sun-Dried Tomatoes for the appetizer. It was absolutely delicious and probably the best course. I'm not a big mushroom fan, but these were some damn good 'shrooms! Then Jeffro had the Miniature Rack of Pork Stuffed with House Made Sausage, Baked Tomato Tart, Roasted Cipolini Onions and Ham Hock “Jus”. Apparently the latest thing in the culinary world is to serve pork "medium rare." Um, I'll skip the trichinosis, thanks. Jeffro actually had to send it back once cause it was too rare. I had the Tournedos of Pepper Crusted Filet Mignon, Potato Tart, Red Wine Mushrooms, Crispy Onion Rings and Beef Jus. Boy was that rich but delicious. The filet was beautifully cooked and tender, and the beef jus was outstanding. For dessert, we both selected the Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake with Danish Sweet Cream Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce. I should have chosen the fudge brownie sundae instead cause the sticky toffee pudding cake wasn't as impressive as it sounded. It had the consistency of banana bread, but without bananas it was weird and the caramel sauce tasted a little burned. So I would say that was the least successful course for me. Do I sound Iron Chef enough yet? It was a nice meal, if a little rushed cause the place was packed. Saturday we head to Hook for lunch, so I'll have to give you the full report after that.
What could be better? Two of my favorite things! I saw these new Oreo Cakesters in Giant the other day and nearly bought a truckload of them. I thought it showed great restraint that I didn't, but I suspect I will be getting some this weekend. I found out I didn't get the job I was trying to get, cause they turned it more into a graphic design job. Whatever! So I went and had a HUGE margarita at Guapo's and now all's well.
Literally! Check out this Forbes article that discloses the top 5 most unhealthy commutes in America. You guessed it, Washington DC clocked in at number 5. I always knew that sitting in so much traffic was terrible for me, that's why I got a job closer to home. And why I can't understand people who move out from metro areas to have a "better life" only to sit in 2-3 hours of traffic daily. No thanks, not for me.
