Hammer Time!

While I was enjoying girl time with Chloe, Mister was in TX, eating Taco Bueno and chilling with the fam. It was a heavenly weekend for the both of us. When he called me from the airport on Sunday evening, he said that he had a surprise for me. Since I hate surprises, he so kindly told me what it was (but I’m going to keep you in suspense for just a titch longer).

Mister comes from a family of tennis players. They belonged to a tennis club, Mister played in high school, and his mom played with a group of ladies, and even traveled the world to watch the various tennis tournaments.

When we moved to Houston, we discovered the tennis courts in our complex and bought some 10 dollar rackets from Target so we could play. I took tennis lessons in junior high, but the only thing I got out of it was the first hand knowledge that it hurts when someone spikes a tennis ball directly at your stomach. So basically, our tennis games consisted of me shanking, missing and retrieving a lot of balls. Our current home has courts as well, and we’ve been “playing” quite a bit lately. The complex even has a tennis pro, and Mister has taken advantage of a lesson to brush up on his skills.

Back to the surprise. Apparently Mister’s mom no longer plays tennis and she sent her racket home with Mister for me to use. Isn’t that so nice?! Mister said that this particular racket would have me playing like a pro in no time. Dude wasn’t kidding! Apparently there is a HUGE difference between a 10 dollar racket and a fancier one. We played last night and it was amazing how much better I was. It was magic! I’m no (insert name of amazingly talented tennis player here) but I’m getting there.

Thanks Marlene!!

*Why hammer time? The racket is called the Hammer.

Bon weekend et un marathon

My lovely friend Chloe came down from NYC for a visit last weekend. She so perfectly recapped the festivities on her blog, which you can read here (mom), but for the rest of you, here’s the cliff notes version:

We did exactly three things:

*ate delicious food

*had girl talk; and

*relaxed

It was perfect.

For those who don’t know, Chloe and I ran the St. George marathon together (our first!) 4 years ago. It was such a blast, and this weekend we decided to do another one. Since I will be in Guinea and she may be living overseas as well, we’ve settled on the Casablanca marathon in 2012. Cool huh? I’m a bit nervous about it; I haven’t run in a long time and I’ll have to shave 11 minutes off of my fastest marathon time (and 35 off of my slowest) to beat the cut off, so I’ve got a tough road ahead of me. BUT! I have a year and a half to train, so I should be able to do it. I’m excited!(?)

Delicious things I’ve consumed lately

Considering swimsuit season is just around the corner, I really should be watching what I eat. Instead, I’m eating pretty much anything/everything I can get my hands on. I am at the mercy of my stomach, which, in a few short months will be deprived of all of the comforts and convenience of American cuisine. So here are some of the delicious things I’ve eaten lately:

*Coconut Twix. If you like Samoas/Caramel Delites, you’ll probably love this limited edition candy bar. It doesn’t have real live pieces of coconut, but that’s ok, because it is still amazing. They are super hard to find (I think they were just released) so keep your eyes peeled.

*Café Rio! If you’re from Utah, you’re probably obsessed with it, or at the very least you’ve heard of it. If you’re not from Utah, think Chipotle but with more options, homemade tortillas, not as much cilantro and a million times more delicious. Until recently, the closest Café Rio to us here in DC was in Denver, CO. Now, it’s a short 45 minutes away in Olney, MD. It opened two and a half weeks ago and Mister and I have already been four (!!) times. I recommend the pork salad with creamy tomatillo dressing and the mint limeade. Oh that limeade. My mouth is watering just thinking of it. It’s so good.

*The Real Margherita pizza from Pupatella. I love Neapolitan pizza, but never in the mood to drive to the only place I knew of in the DC area that made them, 2Amy’s. While driving to French one day I noticed a little teeny restaurant advertising real Neapolitan pizza, and we finally tried it. It’s just as delicious as 2Amy’s (and the exact same price), but so much more accessible.

*Tazo Passion Iced Tea. It’s a beautiful shade of pink and is refreshingly fruity (and not very herby). They sell it at Starbucks, but after spending too much money there, I bought the filter bags so I can make it at home (and save lots of money). I love it.

Perceptions

Did you know that once upon a time, the ability (or lack thereof) of a diplomat’s spouse to socialize at Embassy sponsored events was included in the diplomats job evaluation? Do you know how glad I am that that is no longer the case? My poor husband would have to work extra hard in every other facet of his job to make up for me and my social ineptitude. 

I have been told before that I come across as completely unapproachable, i.e., I seem like a total snot. The fact of the matter is that I’m painfully shy, as in, large groups of people (and sometimes even small ones) make me want to find the nearest corner and cry in it. I also have other strange and irrational fears that have me avoiding people I’ve met before because I’m convinced that they would 1) not remember me and/or 2) have no desire to talk to me. I know, I know, I’ve got a lot of issues. But I promise that if you have the patience to break down my self-imposed walls and navigate through my somewhat awkward attempts at small talk, I’m actually a really nice person.

So next time you’re at a social gathering and you see someone who acts like they’re above having a conversation with you, they may feel that way, but it’s more likely that they’re just shy.

PS: If you’re anxiously waiting for a recap of our last minute trip to Boston, you won’t be getting one. It turns out we’re (I am) not so spontaneous after all. But thanks for the Boston tips! We’ll definitely put them to good use at some point (and Lauren, I will take you up on your offer to feed me yummy food), when we can either fly there or not arrive at 3am after driving for a million hours.

spontaneity

the conversation started with...what should we do tonight and ended with...boston it is. oh the joys of being a childless couple without a social calendar. neither mister nor i have ever been so i need your help. if you had one and a half days in boston what would you do see and eat. ps please excuse the formatting and punctuation...or lack there of...on this post. i am blogging from my phone and only the lower case letters and the period work.