Diversity Workshop

Today I went to my second Diversity workshop. Our first assignment was to find out information (family, food, travel, etc) about our classmates by holding conversations in the middle of the room. One of the women I was chatting with commented that I look "too young to have two children". I never know what to say when people say that. Since this was a professional situation, I didn't necessarily want to share my age and almost felt defensive about her comment.

Diversity as a topic is something that I admittedly need to learn more about. I am aware of what diversity means, I'm certainly familiar with the diversity initiatives in my office and we talked about it extensively in leadership group, but I feel as though its an area that I want to develop. I think sometimes that is slightly ironic since I studied women all through college, looking at women through history, in different countries and in different situations. Perhaps I feel like I need to learn more about diversity because I dont' feel as though I'm "diverse" as the word is most commonly applied. Perhaps I feel like I need to learn more because I feel uncomfortable in certain situations, not knowing the right thing to say not to cause offense. Diversity is seemingly the newest buzz-word on campus, and since it is so important, I feel like I should learn more about it, especially since it is a major focus in my grad program. Next paper: motivation and diversity!

Thanksgiving break 2007

Thanksgiving break was quite enjoyable this year. Certainly Carl and I have very many things to be thankful for: wonderful and supportive families, two beautiful little girls, his new job, the best friends ever and the list could go on. It was wonderful to be able to visit with our friends and family this year, dining with Becky on Tues night, wine with Ciara and Kristen on Weds night, cinnamon rolls with Mindy and the Kleins Thurs morning, dinner with my parents and brother on Thurs night, and lunch with the Fehnel clan on Sat. It was quite a food and conversation-filled break, but proved to be quite relaxing as well! Unfortunately, I did no schoolwork at all...so I have my work cut out for me this week.

Andy and Pam brought the girls an early birthday present: stollers for their babies, since they won't be able to make it down in two weeks. Laney and Alie have been playing with the strollers almost non-stop since they opened them!

I also loved seeing the baby bumps on Becky and Pam. How fun to have two of our closest friends due so close together! We can't wait to start shopping for little baby things again :) I'm so anxious to hear if they babies are boys or girls!!!!

Finally, Wen moves to Silver Spring in a week and a half!!! I really can't wait. I have LOVED having Cirucci in the area, and I look forward to getting to know Greg better, and to spending more time with Wen! Wen is already making plans for her first weekend here :)

I think they meant "B I E"

This weekend, Cirucci and I made the (on a good traffic day) 8 hour drive to Beaufort NC to visit the bestest friend Wen. By the time arrived on Sat morning at 1:15 am, we had decided that it would have been eaiser for us to sail, like pirates (or get a ding fare...hehe). Our weekend was relaxing, just as we had hoped it would be. We played Wii, cooked (thanks cirucci), ate a lot, drank coffee and margaritas and just had girl chats! It was wonderful. The drive home was not so wonderful..it started out well, but by the time we reached the dc beltway, i was pretty sure I was sick. Yay for Cirucci who saved the day with her wonderful stories :) It's ok, the visit was worth it.

I purchased some new wine while in NC and I'm psyched to test it out with Carl, or whoever else ventures over in pursuit of wine. Tomorrow is dinner with Becky (no wine for her) and Weds is dessert and drinks with the SPSG clan! Thurs is breakfast watching the parade with Mindy and dinner with Travis and the 'rents...I'm super excited for the fun week we have lined up.

Oh and Delaney's new word: "wiggle worm".

birthday happenings

Well the 27th (gasp) birthday has come and gone, and it was very fun and quite special. Dinner on the 8th at Cirucci's was delish...chocolate cake and enchilladas courtesy of chef ciruc (yum-o)! Friday night we ventured (and yes venture would be the best word) to Ellicott City. Brian and I sat in about an hour of traffic, but once we got there the food was great! The boys embarassed me by getting the band and waiters to sing "Happy Birthday". Afterwards we stopped for some wine, which was delish as well :) Saturday, Ciruc and I headed to Philly to meet up with her sis, Jenn. We had lunch in the city, and then we each made a Viv..soooo much fun. Afterwards we grabbed some Starbucks and drove around the city looking for christmas decorations. The day was in celebration of all three of our bdays, and it was perfect!
I also spent the weekend watching Christmas movies! I know I know, I was just in a christmas bashing mood...but now I'm feeling like we need to bring on the holiday season (thanks to our quick trip to the Christiana Mall).

christmas in early Novmeber....?

Throughout my workday I listen to yahoo music (although Kevin has recommended a different music thing). Anyway, I digress...this morning I noticed that I have my choice of holiday themed music now. I can choose from traditional christmas, pop-holiday, jazz holiday, etc. Who, may I ask is already listening to Christmas music on November 8th? I guess Halloween is the new Thanksgiving! Oh well...

Dancing with the Stars and the Ravens

I have boycotted Dancing with the Stars this season, basically because I didn't agree with Sabrina being kicked off (shame on me for not voting though). She was my favorite, and I'm not really thrilled about any of the people who are still on. On my way to work this morning, I heard that she is dating her partner officially. They are super cute together, so good for them! Ha! Imagine the kind of dancing they can do in their living room when they're bored. I had to laugh when I read that Mario and his old partner are living together...ahh "reality" tv!

Then I just have to mention...Ravens are quite a disappointment this season. Not that I thought they would win last night, one can always hope. I wasn't expecting such a terrible showing! Even Carl isn't as obsessed this season as he has been in past seasons.

Saturday night festivities

So I tried to post mid-festivity on Friday night. We started at the Melting Pot, celebrating Cirucci's 26th birthday! Melting Pot was yum-o, although it was a TON of food. Camp Laura was my eating partner, and we drank and ate for a little over 3 hours. When we got back to Cirucci's, we drank some more wine, and some more wine and I tried posting ;) The rest of the evening turned into something from college revisited. We tried to walk to Padonia station for some cheese fries at 1 am. The kitchen was closed eventhough we called before we started walking to be sure that they were still serving food :( Then we walked through the drive through of a closed Wendy's. The best part, we were able to score some food, wooohoooo. Then we walked back to Cirucci's, at cold calzones out the fridge (after eating our Wendy's) and finally made our way to bed. The weekend of Chrissy was sooo much fun!

Last night Cirucci came over for some pizza from Cheesy's (my new fav) and we watched Knocked Up which was pretty funny.

PS. Katie's bday was Saturday. Happy belated bday Katie! You know I miss you tons and tons!!!

rock out with Ciruc and Camp Laura!

We are playing scrabble. Mack and Bryan are playing dead or alive. We are all drinking wine since we arrived home from the fondue place. We had an awesome weekend of cirucci, hanging out, shopping, eating and of course drinking! Actually, we are mid-second bottle of wine. Camp Laura (who I officially love) and I are playing scrabble as a team vs. Ciruc and bri's sister Whitney. I have to return to the game. logging off!

Halloween celebrations

So Halloween night was much fun! Cirucci and Bri came over, and my two little girls had a wonderful time being thing one and thing two. Seemingly, most of the fun was helping to answer the door, looking at all the other kids' costumes. Yesterday I had the day off, and it was such a wonderful and relaxing day. The girls and I woke up and watched some cartoons from my bed. After breakfast and getting dressed, we played with the giant legos, and read some books. It was such a beautiful day out, so we took a walk to Target to get some birthday cards. After lunch it was naptime, and I finished the book club book (finally!). When Carl came home, we had dinner and then we went to the aquarium. We rounded the day off with a dessert treat at Hard Rock Cafe.
At the aquarium, Alison loved the turtles, and Laney was a huge fan of the fish and frogs. Member night was so un-crowded, it really gave the girls an opportunity to see everything, and spend a long time looking.
I'm getting excited about the weekend of Cirucci starting this evening. S'mores and movie night here I come!!