eating right

My great roommate Rachel is finally back in DC after spending the summer in Idaho. We've decided to combine forces to eat better and workout consistently. Really it's just me that needs the help, she's a workout fiend and eats well (aside from her obsession of M&M's). We have agreed to plan out our meals for the week, do our grocery shopping together, take turns cooking as well as lift weights together three times a week. We started last night by cooking whole wheat spaghetti with marinara sauce and ground turkey. After cooking the turkey I needed to drain the fat. We didn't have any empty tin cans (which I prefer) and I wasn't about to put it in a glass bowl that I'd have to wash eventually, so we stacked up 5 of the plastic cups I use primarily to eat my breakfast in the morning. I left it out to set and didn't think about it past that point.

Fast foward to this morning...I'm rushing as always and grab a plastic cup from the cupboard and put my cereal and milk in it. I'm in the car and take a bite. There is a weird texture on the plastic spoon but dismiss it. I take another bite and become curious to know what the deal is. I look at the spoon and find that it is repelling milk and is slick to the touch. I then look at my cereal and see yellow floaties all over the milk. Apparently someone was cleaning up last night and put the stack of cups back in the cupboard and I used it this morning for my cereal. A friend of mine said to me that you should eat a protein, carb and fat at every meal but somehow I don't think this is what he was referring to...

Birthday re-cap

My 27th year has been great so far. Here are some highlights from the b-day...

-I was rudely awakened at 6:45 after only 3 hours of sleep by my friends Erin and Rae. I was blindfolded and taken to an undisclosed location (O-HOP) where friends gathered for a little birthday breakfast. There were pictures taken but I'm not sharing...I had my pj's on, bed head and no makeup. Not a pretty sight. Thanks Steph, Rae, Bronwyn, Corey, Kate, Tara, Amber, Sarina and Erin!

-Lots of birthday wishes by email, text and phone. The funny award goes to Mike who told me "There is no place like DC to celebrate a birthday. Why? I don't know. You tell me. You're the one who lives there, but hey." Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes!!

-Video birthday serenade and kisses from little Abby and Thomas.

-In person birthday serenade from Matthew, Kate, Claire and Jake. They all put a different spin on the birthday song. Examples..."Happy Birthday to you, You're a hundred and two. You look like a leaf, and you smell like one too." and a more scandalous "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you. You smell like a whore..." We're pretty sure he meant Horse...but it definitely didn't sound like it!

-Dating my deposit slip 8/25/79.

-Trying sushi for the first time with my co-workers.

-Delicious birthday dinner with Abbie, Amanda and Betsy. No tears were shed at Carlyle this time (I have cried over their food before) but it was delicious!

-This was the first year I haven't had cake and ice cream, but I did have creme brulee, banana pudding and shortbread. Mmmmmm.

-Having a end of birthday countdown with my friend Daniel.

It was a great way to start off a new year. Thanks everyone for celebrating with me!

on this day, many years ago...

I feel I need to apologize for the crazy picture cropping. My mom gave me free reign and I decided (unwisely) that it would be cool to cut my pictures up this way. Well you live and you learn...

mmmm...mint

I absolutely LOVE mint. I love mint in my gum, mint in my chocolate, mint in my ice cream, mint in my cookies and now I love mint in my water. That's right...my water. I discovered this new drink at Whole Foods called metromint. It is mint flavored water in both peppermint and spearmint flavors. It is the most refreshing thing I've ever had, I love it. I initially tried the peppermint flavor as I prefer peppermint gum, and it's very nice, but tonight I tried the spearmint flavor. It reminds me my childhood when I would steep dried mint leaves from our garden with the crazy spoon like thingy to make a nice mint tea. It is so great. Not only is it delightful, but the bottles are cool too...check it out!!!

Miscelleny

*I sent some good mail to my niece and nephew on Saturday. Little Thomas had a day full of spills so I sent him some Finding Nemo band-aids. His sister, although not quite as prone to falls deserved a little something as well so she got some Hello Kitty ones. The best part of sending this was the phone call I got from them on Monday. They are two and a half and such talkers. They love to talk on the phone and I love trying to decode what they're saying. They have the cutest voices, they make me smile.

*I just finished a project for work and I think it turned out pretty good. I had to create a "class photo" of our team (MATS) for the upcoming conference that the professionals (meaning everyone but the admins) will be attending. I decided on a high school yearbook theme and had the partners under the title "Class Officers" the admins as "Faculty" and the rest of the team as "Class of 2006." To fill space and make it a little more interesting I added quotes that I found in my own high school yearbooks. On the page with the admin's and partner's pictures I put a blurb I found about brown-nosing and on the page with the rest of the group I put the following quotes:

"MATS reminds me of my family, where you can have a big nose and still be loved."
"We know how to have fun, work hard and care about each other. We are like an oreo cookie dunked in milk, the perfect combination"
"MATS has helped me reach for higher heights and become a smarter more well-rounded person"
"We don't just sit around and waste time, we actually do stuff"
"The best thing about TS is the pride we have. Nothing is done second best, we're MATS and that demands respect"

I'm kind of glad that I won't be at focus to see it. I think it's funny, but I don't know that I want to see first-hand the reaction it gets. Especially since most of our group doesn't know it has been done.

*The TV we have in our house may have been one of the first models ever. It is encased in wood and only has 36 channels. Unfortunately the network channels here in DC are found on channels 34-39 so as long as I can remember we've only been able to watch NBC and Fox. We do have a VCR, therefore the ability to feed the channels through it, unfortunately the remote has been lost for some time now so we've been unable to program it. Last night I purchased a cheap universal remote to solve the problem. 2 people and 45 minutes later we finally have all of our channels and then some. Who knew we got SPIKE and Speed?! Now I can watch NASCAR and CSI anytime I want!

customer service?

How is it that I can call an organization, ask three different people the same question and get three VERY different answers?

follow-up on the previous post

You should know that Ben isn't the first Clawson to be found in a nationally distributed publication. My Grandma was pictured in the very first issue of Life magazine. She was dressed as a pilgram holding the Presidential turkey (before it was plucked and stuffed of course). Cool huh?!

Meet my cousin...the model!!

My extended family is full of extremely good looking people...what can I say, we have good genes. I'd like to tell you about one of them, my cousin Ben. Ben lives in NYC and is the fashion guru of the family. His store of choice is Barney's but can make anything look good, especially on a budget. You can't help but heed his style advice because he knows what he is talking about. I have added several great pieces to my wardrobe thanks to him (and I choose to ignore the time I rejected his advice. Of course he was right and I'm still not sure he's forgiven me!). Well this summer Ben was riding around his neighborhood in Greenwich Village and was approached by someone representing Details magazine who asked if he would like to participate in a photo shoot for their September issue. Ben said yes and joined 11 other ordinary (but all very good looking) men in Central Park for a photo shoot. He was dressed in a Prada suit which fit him like a glove and spent the day posing in the 100 degree weather. Well the magazine has started to hit the newsstands and of course the picture has been forwarded to everyone we know. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Ben!! Doesn't that sound dramatic?

He is the great looking one dead center, to the left of the flame. The only guy that doesn't have shadows or a contorted look on his face.

Isn't he handsome?!

be nice to me...

I gave blood for the first time today. I've always been curious and interested in giving blood but hesitant due to the fact that I'm not one for needles and fear that I have some crazy disease that I'm not aware of (weird I know). The American Red Cross comes to the office once a month or so to get donations and today was another of those days. My co-worker Jake had decided to give blood for the first time so I thought this would be a good time to go. I figured we could offer each other moral support. We read the booklet of information and it was finally my turn to have my interview. While I'm sitting behind the curtain I hear one of the blood donors throwing up...multiple times. Luckily I wasn't out there to witness it or I probably would have lost it as well. When I finally sit down in the donor's chair (which funny enough is right next to the ralphing woman) I'm VERY nervous. I had a great nurse though and she got me to relax enough to put the needle in. Apparently I didn't have a sufficient breakfast, although I had more to eat than I normally do, because she practically forced me to drink a diet coke. After 4 months of no soda I had no choice but to give in. I was kind of sad about that, although I only had a few sips, not enough to send me on a downward spiral as a Coke addict. When I was through, she bandaged me up with some nice flourescent pink tape (I wanted the pretty blue :( ) and sent me away to eat cookies. I was doing just fine until I left the room and then I got really really weak. Not to the point of passing out, but just no energy, shaky, and loss of brain functionality. Even 3 hours later I'm still struggling. It's almost enough to keep me from donating again. Has anyone had similar experiences with giving blood?

extreme blog makeover

I gave my blog a makeover, what do you think? It is soooooooo me, I love it I love it I love it!!! I posted this picture because I'm just so cute...and vain.

belated weekend post

I had a rather fun weekend. I got off work at 3:00 and went to my sisters house to pick up the lawnmower that I left there when I mowed their lawn for 6 hours and to frame an Anne Clawson original photo to give to a friend (my first framed photo). I have been hesitant to go get the lawnmower because I apparently left it right on top of a wasps nest. Unfortunately I had no choice but to go get it because I was given an ultimatum from my roommate to bring it home or else! Not wanting to find out what the "or else" entailed, I prepared for battle by putting on a winter parka, long pants and shoes so that the only skin showing was the tips of my fingers and a small amount of my face. I grabbed that lawnmower so fast! Luckily I escaped without any bee stings.

That night Erin invited the girls out for dessert on Friday to celebrate her recent windfall. I'm never one to turn down free stuff (especially food), and it was great to see the girls. After gorging ourselves on chocolate dipped fruits and brownies we went to see Step Up, the new dance movie. I was especially excited to see this because as you loyal readers will know, I'm obsessed with a little show called "So You Think You Can Dance" and really anything that has dancing in it. Unfortunately I was uber tired and slept through much of the movie. Apparently I didn't miss much and lucky for me I woke up just in time to watch the very cool closing number.

The next morning I woke up early to buy tickets for Erin and I to go see the "So You Think You Can Dance" tour which is coming to DC on October 10. Our tickets aren't the greatest, we're on the very back row of the balcony. We might need binoculars, but at least we're near the middle so we should have a good view of the whole stage. I can't wait to see Travis, Allison, Benji and Heidi live and in person. It will be an awesome show, I just know it!

That evening I joined my Brother-in-law Matt, niece Claire and cousin Betsy at the Nats vs. Mets baseball game. We had good seats along right field and it was such a blast. I of course ate a stadium hot dog which was incredible. I really think the hot dogs are the best part of any sporting event. We had fun taking pictures, eating Claires sno-cone and singing "Take me out to the ball game." The Nats lost, but that's ok.

I have pictures on my camera of most of these activities but I haven't had a chance to upload them. Maybe if you come back later there will be some...

bedfellows

I had company in my bed last night. No mother it wasn't a man (no heart attacks please) but a great big carpenter ant. This morning I found it laying dead right where I was sleeping. Gross!

Dome Tour

Working at the Senate was probably the coolest thing I've ever done in my life. The experiences I had there were second to none. One of the neatest things I did there was go on a dome tour, which are only available through your representatives offices (but don't even try...they rarely give them, mainly because the representative has to accompany his guests on the tour). No I didn't go with Senator Bennett, but my co-worker's husband did an internship with the Architect of the Capitol's office (or something like that) and hooked us up with a tour. If you have ever been in the US Capitol, you know how incredible it is. The architecture and art is breathtaking. You can see my pictures here, and don't even try to pretend you're not jealous :)

World Trade Center

There really wasn't any question whether or not I'd see this movie, it was just a matter of when. I had decided to go see it tonight and my friends Tara and Corey were kind enough to join me. World Trade Center is the story of two Port Authority police officers who were two of only 20 people to be rescued from the rubble in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Of course I cried and this time for so many different reasons. I cried at the shadow of the plane because it brought to surface what I felt on that day. I cried for the men who hesitantly but bravely volunteered to go to the World Trade Center that day, not knowing exactly what they faced, not knowing that many of them would not be going home. I cried for the people who made it out of the building before it collapsed. I cried for the people who felt that they had no choice but to end their life by such means as jumping out of the building. I cried for the families of those who were in the World Trade Center, for their feelings of hopelessness. I cried for the two Port Authority police officers who did all they could to stay alive, all the while thinking they would die. I cried for the brave men who went into the rubble to rescue these men they didn't know, not knowing if even they would make it out alive. I cried for the families who got the news that their loved ones were safe. I cried for the thousands of families who never got that call. I cried for all of the people whose lives were changed forever that day.

The movie was so hard to watch, but at the same time I was so glad I saw it. Just like I felt after watching United 93, I gained a deeper appreciation and greater perspective for that horrific day in 2001. Go see this movie, you won't regret it.

Why???

I sleep on a full size bed. While it is no Queen or King, there is plenty of room for a single girl such as myself to spread out and get comfy right? Well why is it that I end up sleeping on the left hand side while grasping onto the side of the bed?? It doesn't make any sense.

SYTYCD

I watched the performance finale for So You Think You Can Dance last night. It was so incredible. I love dance, I wish I was good at it! I shed a little tear knowing that this is was the last real episode. I hope that the results show next week has LOTS and lots of dancing in it and no musical performances by artists I don't care for. Tickets to the SYTYCD tour go on sale this weekend, so that's something to look forward to.

To my friends who watch the show...I think Travis is my new favorite, I hope he wins. Who is your pick??

What's in a name

When my mom was pregnant with me, she and my dad decided that they would like to name me Emily. This was until they realized that their other three children's names all started with the letter "A" Amanda, Andrew and Antoine. It was at that point they thought that they'd just replace the E on Emily and call me Amily. This thought was brushed aside and they began to think of new "A" names to call their 4th and final child. They thought of and quickly nixed Amelia and Abigail due to extended family members having used the names already and settled on Anne with an "e" because (and I could have this mixed up) my mom wanted to call me Annie and my dad wanted to call me Anne (with a silent "e"). With the "e" I would have the flexibility to use whichever I wanted.

So here are some facts about my name as it relates to me:
1. I will always introduce myself as Anne. Not because I prefer it, but because it's a habit.
2. My dad, Grandpa Clawson, my brother Tony and his family call me Anne.
3. My mom, sister Amanda and her family and brother Drew and his family call me Annie .
4. Most of my cousins call me Annie.
5. I was always Anne in college because my best friends name was Annie.
6. If I was introduced to you by anyone listed in #3 you call me Annie.
7. Of all of the people I have met in DC, about half call me Anne and the other half call me Annie.
8. If you know me as Annie and call me Anne (or vice versa) it just doesn't sound right.
9. Only three people can get away with calling me Anna; my sister, my cousin Betsy and my niece Katie
10. Lots of people forget my name but I refuse to believe it's because I'm unmemorable. Instead I blame it on the fact that you use the word "an" in your everyday speech all of the time so my name just gets lost.
11. I LOVE my name.

the weekend

So the weekend isn't nearly as bad as my posts may indicate. Everything I've said was absolutely true, but in addition to the frustrations of being in charge of 4 kids who each have their own agenda and forgetting to brush teeth, we've had a lot of fun (and eaten our fruits and vegetables). I picked up the kids on Friday afternoon and we hung out at the house with my friend Holly. The girls loved having a new "friend" and didn't leave Holly's side the whole time she was here. We watched a movie and went to bed. The boys are in one room and the girls in the other. The boys insisted on sleeping on the floor (which is fine by me) and when I checked on them later that evening they were sleeping next to each other and matthew had his arm around Jake. They did the same thing last night. Sooo cute. Katie and Claire also slept in the same bed last night. I wanted to take pictures but I was worried that the flash would wake them up. Saturday we did a little cleaning and went to the 4-H fair with our cousin Betsy. We had a good time looking at and petting horses and going on the inflatable slide. It was VERY hot though so we didn't last very long. We then cooled off in the pool with a bunch of their friends. I am impressed at their swimming skills, they're much better swimmers than I am! After dinner we chose a movie to watch, Home on the Range, and Matthew decided he wasn't interested in watching that so he spent 45 minutes screaming "I don't want to watch home on the range, I want to watch Antz" at the top of his lungs. I wasn't sure what the appropriate action would be to this so we just ignored him until he finally calmed down and joined us for the movie. Today we rushed to church (after I, yes I, threw a quick tantrum) where the kids were very well behaved. We've cleaned the house and now they're watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

It was a tough weekend but a lot of fun. I'm still not convinced that I'd be very good at this motherhood thing, but really it's not something I need to be thinking about right now. I mean, in order to have a family you first have to aquire a husband; and considering I've been on 2 dates in the last 4 1/2 years I think I still have a ways to go!

ummmm

I can't brush my teeth this morning because in my haze I put destin on my tooth brush instead of toothpaste.

reasons

...why I am an awesome aunt (alternate title: "Why my sister will never ask me to watch her kids ever again")

-Video Games...lots of 'em

-Movies...lots of them

-Taco Bell, Papa John's and Chick-fil-a

-Popcorn...lots of it

-Sprite...lots of it

-teeth brushed...never

I don't think I'm cut out for this motherhood thing.

Blog Tag

What is your salad dressing of choice?
Ranch, the kinds they have at restaurants...sooo much better than the bottled kind

What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
Five Guys!

What is your favorite sit down restaurant?
Carlyle Grand and California Pizza Kitchen

On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant?
15% - 20% I usually just guestimate

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
nothing...I get sick of things pretty easily...well maybe bread, I love me some good bread

Name three foods you detest above all others.
anything with cilantro, anything with basil or oregano, scallops

What is your favorite dish to order in a Chinese restaurant?
If I had a choice I wouldn't eat at a Chinese restaurant...but if I had to order something it would be Kung Pao Chicken

What are your pizza toppings of choice?
Ham and Pineapple

What do you like to put on your toast?
lots of butter, homemade strawberry jam

What is your favorite type of gum?
Trident Tropical Twist. It's the BEST!

Number of contacts in your cell phone?
It's dead right now but I'd have to estimate 50

Number of contacts in your e-mail address book?
107

What is your wallpaper on your computer?
this photo

What is your screensaver on your computer?
Slideshow of my pictures

Are there naked pictures saved on your computer?
absolutely not

How many land line phones do you have in your house?
1

How many televisions are in your house?
4

What kitchen appliance do you use the most?
sadly the microwave

What is the format of the radio station you listen to the most?
hip hop (I think)

What do you consider to be your best physical attribute?
my eyes and smile

Are you right handed or left handed?
Right

Do you like your smile?
I love it...

Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
Tonsils

Would you like to?
sure, about 30 pounds...

Do you prefer to read when you go to the bathroom?
I can't believe I'm answering this but yes

Which of your five senses do you think is keenest?
that's a hard one...scent

When was the last time you had a cavity?
No comment

What is the heaviest item you lift regularly?
the weights at the gym

Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
Nope

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
Hmm...I think so...I've never been one to enjoy surprises.

If you could change your first name, what would you change it to?
I really like my first name, but when I was 10 or so I really wanted my name to be Brenda

How do you express your artistic side?
take photos

What color do you think you look best in?
light blue and brown

How long do you think you could last in a medium security prison?
I'm pretty tough, so probably a while

Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
not that I'm aware of

If we weren't bound by society's conventions, do you have a relative you would make a pass at?
All of my cousins are very good looking. However, I don't even make "passes" at people I'm not related to, I'm too shy!

How often do you go to church?
most sundays

Have you ever saved someone's life?
Maybe

Has someone ever saved yours?
I saved my own...remember that time I almost died a few years back? I took myself to urgent care. Does that count?

Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000?
maybe after that 30 lbs of fat is removed from my body

Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?
I don't think so

Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
How about my thumb? I can't move it anyway.

Would you never blog again for $50,000?
Blog, what blog? *ditto Erin*

Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?
I don't think that anyone needs to see that.

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
absolutely not

Would you shave your head and get your entire body waxed for $5,000?
that is my total dream, in a heartbeat.

Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000?
it would have to be for more money...I'm hopelessly addicted to my shows.

Who do you tag?
Tara, Corey

ideas??

This weekend my life will change from one of a single girl with no cares in the world to that of a single mother with 4 very energetic children under the age of 6 while my sister and her husband travel back to Utah for a reunion. Although I have experience as a nanny, this is a whole new ballgame and I need help. The only thing I have planned is a trip to the 4-H fair on Saturday. Does anyone have any brilliant ideas on how I can keep these kids entertained for 3 days??

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

I have a new album featuring the pictures I took at the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens.

This picture is one of my favorites, but you can view them all here.

A few little things...

I went to the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens to take pictures yesterday. It wasgorgeous and I'm excited to see what I was able to capture on film. There were several people taking pictures there including this guy with a telephoto lens, you know...the HUGE lenses that stick out from the camera like a foot?? I kept catching him taking my picture. When I would look at him he'd give me a look like "go ahead with what you were doing...don't mind me."I didn't mind one bit, because I do the same thing; but with that lens, I can only imagine the imperfections he was able to capture, like the big zit on my nose and the sweat that saturated my back from the oppressive heat. Lovely I tell ya!

Speaking of oppressive heat, this week the DC area is scheduled for some record breaking temperatures. They say that we will have a high of around 102 but it will feel like 110 with the humidity all week long. Can we say misery??

I worked my legs at the gym today and have noticed that they are 3 times stronger than my arms. Where I can do most of my leg exercizes with an average of 100 (sometimes more) lbs, I'm lucky if I can lift 30 or 40 with my arms. Is that pretty normal? It seems weird to me.