Garden salad

Thanks to the obscene amount of rain that Northern Virginia has been hit with in the past week and a half, my little patio container garden has been growing like crazy. Every other day, I'm out there, trying to keep up with all of the dead-heading and pruning. The tiny little tomato plants that CH and I picked up when he was home on R&R are about 3 1/2 feet tall now and require plant stakes for support. At this rate, it won't be too long before the tomatoes are ready to be picked.

At the other end of the patio is my basil and mint, both of which have had explosive growth spurts in the last week or so. If only there was a way to grow mozzarella balls on the patio; I already have two out of the three ingredients required for a tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad handy. Yum!

In Remembrance

SFC Kevin Dupont passed away today after a courageous three month battle with injuries he received on March 8, 2009 in Afghanistan when the vehicle he was riding in was struck by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). SFC Dupont and Captain Husband met while they were in training at Fort Riley, Kansas, last summer and became friends. If you would like to learn more about this incredibly strong man and his fight, I highly suggest that you visit the Caring Bridge website that was set up for him this spring. My most heartfelt condolences go out to SFC Dupont's wife, Lisa, and their families. I wish I could say more, but there just aren't enough words to express what I'm feeling right now.

To Liberia and back, or, the joys of padded spandex

I've been on a bit of a fitness/diet kick lately, most of which resulted from seeing some photographs of myself taken at my 30th birthday party (I swear, I suffer from reverse body dysmorphic disorder in which I am totally convinced that my body is smokin' when indeed it is not). Since the start of this month, I've been monitoring my daily food intake, cutting back on pop and booze, and hitting the free fitness center that comes with our membership in the HOA. I've managed to drop about 8 pounds (which equals 1 Sandy, fyi) in the first two weeks, which has motivated me to stick with the current plan of action. Last week I decided to step things up a notch and break my bike free from the confines of the garage. I'd had it tuned up the week prior, thinking I might take it with me to North Carolina, but the torrential downpours discouraged doing that. Now that the weather has cleared up a bit, it seemed like the perfect thing to do.

I love my bike and it has served me well these past 7 years, but it's not really cut out for the Northern Virginia terrain in that it has no gears. That was all well and good when I lived in Philadelphia, a relatively flat city, but boy oh boy, did that first ride on the Prince William Parkway trail kick my butt. I rode about 12 miles and I felt every single one, but not enough to make me call it quits. I went out for a ride the next day, and the next. It was then that I realized that I could probably commute part of my way to work on my bike, if I drove to Mount Vernon, parked the car, and rode in the rest of the way to Alexandria. But I was going to need some gears. I berated my bike-riding friends for advice and they pointed me to the Specialized Sirrus Sport:
My local bike shop happens to be a Specialized dealer, so I planned my day off today around a trip to the shop to try one on and test ride it. It's amazing the difference some gears can make! It's also a lot lighter and more responsive than my current ride; a couple of loops around the parking lot, and I was hooked! I used part of the tax refund that I'd been hoarding to buy it and the shop threw in a free water bottle and bike computer--sweet! I brought the bike home, put on my trusty padded spandex shorts (which I wear under a pair of normal shorts; I effin' hate spandex) and went for a 16.3 mile spin to Liberia Avenue in Manassas. I'm going to ride it around here for another week or so before I try the commuting idea, but so far so good!

Beach bum

Even though I was only able to spend a few short days at the beach this weekend, I can now fully appreciate why so many people go on and on about the Outer Banks and how wonderful it is. My only regret is that I wasn't able to make it down for the full week that the house had been rented, but there's always next year. And rest assured, there will definitely be a next year!

Coming and going

This is going to be a short one, since I have to pack and get ready for my trip this weekend down to North Carolina (that's the going part), but I wanted to introduce all of you to the newest addition to my fuzzy family:



Say hello to Sandy! This pretty little gal is two years old and is as good natured and inquisitive as they come. Trish is slowly getting used to having another feline in her space, but Sandy seems to know when Trish wants to be left alone, even though it took her a couple of days to figure it out. Now I need to get used to having a healthy, active cat who thinks nothing of jumping to the top of the cabinets, the mantel, or the bathroom door when the mood strikes her. Just what did I get myself into, anyway?