My Adventures as a Pack Mule, Part One.

First: How I didn't lose readers this past week, I will never ever know!!! I promise the reason I was gone for so long is a good one, but every day I was sure I was losing followers left and right...I typically like to update daily, so a week off with no word, I was convinced I would have lost some of you. But no! You all stuck it out, and I even managed to gain a couple followers in the process...so woo hoo!

Second: On the heels of the announcement that this winter of 2009-2010 is indeed the SNOWIEST on record here in the DC region, I present to you my blog post in which I became a PACK MULE because of this lovely, LOVELY weather (can you sense the sarcasm?)...

I will be doing this post in timeline format, oh, and yes, there are two parts to this pack mule story. Part two (provided we don't lose power--please, dear God, no more) will be tomorrow.

TIMELINE:
Friday, February 5, 2010: Reports circulate that the incoming winter storm will be a doozy. We were told that if we hadn't gotten supplies to make it for days on end without power and access to anything, well, we basically had shot ourselves in the feet.

(We had gotten supplies, and thank goodness I had included D batteries in the grocery list!)

10:30 pm: Snow has been falling steadily for a while. Lots of wind and lots and lots of snow.

11:58 pm: While watching Project Runway on DVR, I hear a crack-boom, and lo and behold, the power is GONE. G-O-N-E. Mr. Dina and I furiously try to find the D batteries he had bought so we can use our awesome flashlight. They are GONE. Just like the power. Sigh.

Saturday, February 6, 2010:

12:30 am: Can't find the D batteries, but have found a small flashlight. And some candles and some matches. We can see the bathroom to go to the bathroom. Well, thank goodness.

12:35 am: I find my reading flashlight. Well, yay, I can read the book about mountain climbing in the Rockies. Just perfect...I get to spend the evening reading about blizzard conditions somewhere else. Haha.

9:00 am: Family is up. Still no power. Sadness. Rex does, though, point out where he put the D batteries...in the cabinet, of course. :P

10:30 am: Starting to get REALLY cold in the house. Children are now wearing overcoats.

12:00 pm: I take a bath. The hot water works, which is a blessing.

3:30 pm: We give up. We call my dad and let him know we have to go to a hotel for the night, possibly two (we have our aunt at my dad's--pretty tight quarters--8 people in 1500 square feet).

And now for the photographic journey (part one) of our adventures as pack mules...


4:00 pm: Goodbye, cold, frigid house. We may see you soon, or it may be weeks. You are lovely, but without power, kind of useless to us in the middle of a driving snowstorm (or two).


4:10 pm: Here is the best photo of me as a pack mule. I have CW in a Bjorn that is *supposed* to only carry up to 26 pounds. CW weighs almost 30. On my back is my backpack full of supplies for two days away from the house. The backpack weighed about 20. Yep, I was carrying 50 extra pounds of weight!!! It was like I was 9 months pregnant ALL OVER AGAIN. Good times...


4:15 pm: We made it to the end of our block. I was not the only pack mule. Mr. Dina was one, too. Rex weighs almost 40 pounds. The Vera Bradley Large Duffel filled with clothes and snacks for the kids? Almost 20. Yep, Mr. Dina got to feel what 9 months of pregnancy feels like, as well. He was a little worn out...and get this...we had to go ALL the way to the edge of the neighborhood to meet my dad...ONE MILE.


4:16 pm: You remember the crack-boom that I mentioned in the timeline? Yes, the one that shut our power off? Well, although there was THUNDERSNOW (great, great word, btw), the cause of the crack-boom was at the end of our street. TREE VERSUS POWER LINE...Tree won.


4:30 pm: Almost 75% of the way there. At about the halfway point, I gave up. I couldn't carry CW anymore. Fortunately, I was able to carry her through the really REALLY deep snow (like 30 inches), and by the point that I was done, the street had been driven on enough (not that we would drive in it, but still, thank you, drivers) so that Rex and CW could walk. This is my favorite picture from the snow...by far. So cute!


4:35 pm: One block away from RESCUE!!! Rex was beyond excited to see my dad. He liked the walk, but he is little and was starting to get worn out. Mr. Dina was carrying CW by this point.

4:45 pm: We meet up with my dad...in his 4WD. He takes us to the house I grew up in, we have a great meal (YUM!), and then he brings us to the hotel nearest our house (just in case the power comes back on in our 'hood, we could just walk home--yes, we are a bit optimistic).

10:00 pm: We are all done. We pack it up for the night, and sleep, sleep, sleep.


Sunday, January 7, 2010:
Whoops, I meant February 7, 2010...it only FELT like January! ;)

8:00 am: Wake up on the 18th floor of the hotel nearest our house to a sparkly, sunshine-y morning. But the sun was a farce...it was still FRIGID and very snow-covered, everywhere.

9:00 am: Still taking photos of the view. It is incredible. If we had been on the other side of the hotel, we would have some awesome views of DC. Instead, we have views of...our neighborhood, my old school (where I still substitute from time to time), a new building being constructed near our home (and is looking to be a behemoth), and 395 (also one of the major highways in the area). Go ahead and click the photo above. Based on the photo, you would NEVER be able to tell that is a major highway. I HAVE NEVER seen 395 look like that.


12:30 pm: We have checked out of the hotel, and well, what do you know? We are going to try to spend the night at my dad's, even with my aunt there. The more the merrier, right? Well, turns out there aren't enough blankets and pillows at my dad's...so we head to Target at Skyline (which is the building in the photo above) and stock up.

BTW, we hear from a neighbor who lives down the street from us (she was at the same hotel as we were) that there may not be power for an ENTIRE week. Sigh. Target becomes our refueling station.



My Improvised Superbowl Look... by dinagideon featuring Keds shoes

6:00 pm: I change. I was wearing one outfit, but decided to change so that Mr. Dina wouldn't be all concerned about me wearing Colts colors (remember, Sunday was the Superbowl). (I had been wearing teal, and that was just too close for comfort.) Not that I changed into Saints' colors (keep in mind, I wasn't really thinking about what I should wear for the Superbowl when I was packing for this mini-adventure of ours)...see the polyvore above for what I did wear.

Amazingly, though, Mr. Dina HAD brought for himself an outfit with Saints' colors. Good for him. He says he wasn't even planning to do that...it just happened. Whatever...we all know that he is a budding fashionista (or fashionisto?).


7:00 pm: We look happy, but in reality, I was just along for the ride, happy to be in my childhood home, not freezing, and being able to enjoy electricity. Mr. Dina spent the next 2.5 hours freaking out...but in the end...the Saints won!

PART TWO will continue tomorrow.

Little sneak peek: We went home on Monday, January 8, 2010. It took way less time to get power restored than we thought. We still had to be like pack mules for the journey home, though, so the title sticks.

What I will not be going into in part two: This current storm...as in, holy moley...there was ANOTHER big storm...not even three days after the last storm ended!!! (And the current object of my prayers--please, please, please protect our power lines from the wind...I really do not want to have to write a My Adventures as a Pack Mule, Parts Three and Four...)

Thank you all for sticking it out with me. SWAK!

Two Outfits of the Day (Featuring Boden's Velvet Coat, Giraffe Print Shoes, J. Crew's Tuxedo Scout Chinos, and a Microsequin Cardigan)!!!

Going to do some reviews later today (which will include pics of how I plan on styling the Carly dress), so I don't want to spend a ton of time on this post, but I do like both of these outfits. I finally am wearing something more interesting than yoga pants (I have been sick--turns out the migraine was actually a virus--blegh).

Tuxedo Chinos and a Bit of Peacock Blue by dinagideon featuring J Crew

Here is the polyvore of what I wore last night. The velvet coat is substantial enough to keep the chill out. It was still REALLY cold. People around here are not used to temps in the teens. BRRRRR.

If you like any of these items, you should be able to click through the polyvore to the place where you can buy them/find out more about them.


Sizes:
Sweater: Size Small.
Pants: Size 8. (I so wanted these...and was STALKING the web until they popped back in my size and for 20 bucks--even got a % off...woohoo.) They are basically a scout chino, but with a fun grosgrain ribbon attached to the side of the pants, giving it a "tuxedo feel."
Shoes: Size 40. (Or a 9.) I was insanely in love with these shoes, but Boden's shoes RUN HUGE. I should wear a 42, or a 10, but I read they ran large, so I bought a 41 (or a 9.5). Those were TOO HUGE--especially width wise, so I ordered a 40. CRAZY. But the 40's fit is lovely, and these are all leather, including the soles. BTW, the 41 I bought was $100, but I had to return them, and by the time I bought the 40, the price had dropped to $60!!! YAY!
Bag: Large Patent Campo. Another item I have been stalking, love the mini campo in coconut, so I knew the large would be lovely, too, but COULD NOT and WOULD NOT pay full price. Well, it went on sale and had 20% off, so I bought the slate. This is a very large bag (see the next photo). I definitely think this bag is only for those of us that are tall and/or have a need for a bag this big (i.e. moms on the go). Just so happens I am both. :)


Sizes:
Coat: UK 12 (or US 8). There was some warning or another that this coat ran small, so I went ahead and got my "normal" size. It is fine, a bit loose, but I can wear a sweater under it. A UK 10 would have been more fitted. There are plenty of these left at Boden, I believe they are even on ridiculous sale now. Like "cheap cheap," if you will.



Pink and Brown for a SAHM by dinagideon featuring J Crew

Polyvore of today's outfit is above. I was SUPPOSED to go out to meet HeidiG. at Tysons, but NO...not only did my car have issues, but in this part of Fairfax County, that is the FORGOTTEN part of Fairfax County, we still have ice on our roads from the light snow we got last night. Guess I am house-bound again. Grrrrrr. :P

So now I get to be sparkly at home. Woo! SAHM sparkly!


Sizes:
Cardigan: Size Medium. I wanted the fit to be a bit loose, giving it a boyfriend look. You will see this crop up later today (this is one of the elements to my ruffled Carly dress outfit). I really like the microsequins. It isn't overly obnoxious, like a light dusting of sparkle. :) The color in the pic is accurate. Suzy reviewed it here.
Top: Size Small. I wore it here last.
Pants: Size 30S.
Shoes: Size 9.5.

Sorry the photo is a bit blurry...hard to take them of myself.

Talk to you all later today!

A Bit of Orange Thanks to Miss Fiona!!!

Must be quick today...we have been in North Carolina for the past four days and we are heading home very soon (so I must pack and not post--but I can't resist a small, itty-bitty, little post).

This outfit is from one of my most popular polyvore sets...normally I put an outfit together and then create a polyvore, but this outfit is from a polyvore creation first. In real life, I really like how it turned out.

I wore it about a month ago when I took a walk on one of our local forest paths here in Northern Virginia (amazingly, you can go from very urban to very quiet and country quickly here--thank you Fairfax County Park Authority). I live very close to this forest, so I spend a lot of time walking in this area. The kids love it, so it is utter perfection!



I Like This Look for Fall! by dinagideon featuring J Crew

Here is the polyvore. Don't worry, all, I DID NOT wear the shoes walking in the forest. I switched to a much more appropriate pair for the walk. :)


But for the pic, definitely wore the shoes. MUST remember to wear nude socks the next time I try this look...ridiculous, those white socks peeking out like a mouse out of a mouse hole. :)

I am SO glad I bought this Fiona (very recently at jcrew.com, for something like 30 dollars) in a size 6. I had bought this in citron, but in a size 10, and sadly (as much as I love the color), it is far too large now. I wore it in this post, way back when. (Anyone want to buy it??? I haven't gotten my for sale blog going yet, but this item will be one of my first listings...)

So you all know, the gorgeous cuff bracelet was a gift from the amazing Drewablank. I said one time to her that I was all ga-ga over it, and she had it, but wasn't wearing it often, so she gifted it to me...how nice is that? I wear it all the time, I love it so...THANK YOU, Ms. Drewablank, you rock!!!

Also, HeidiG. is the reason I got these flats by Merona Collection. She had tried them on at Target and found them to be very narrow, so she suggested I try them on my freaky narrow feet. She was right, they are perfect for me!!! So, thank you, Ms. HeidiG.!!! :)

Okay, all, must pack now. Have a lot of cool things to tell you about...including a trip to the Arden, NC, J. Crew Clearance Store. Yes, it is amazing, and wow, there are some DEFINITE deals. :) (Just a little tease for you all...think the Winnie and now subtract a lot of money...)

Some Color (Okay, A LOT of Color) for Shopping on a Sunday!!!

So I am not going to even pretend like this Sunday (May 3, 2009) was okay. It sucked. Big Time. Rex was accused of doing something in his Bug Walks and Critter Talks class and we were not even told of the issue until 4 WEEKS later. Ugh. It is fairly obvious that the people running this class have no idea of how two-year olds operate. For one, all two-year olds are extremely EGOCENTRIC (mine, mine, mine, gimme, gimme, gimme). Two, all two-year olds, including the most meek two-year olds, tussle with one another. Three, you do NOT, I repeat, do NOT discipline a two-year old AFTER the fact, ESPECIALLY FOUR WEEKS LATER. It just will make NO sense to them. Sigh.

By the way, Rex pushed another kid. We get it. Mr. Dina saw it happen and talked to Rex and sternly warned him that it was "not okay." The other kid walloped Rex back. Both parents laughed about it. BUT...the way the teacher and the supervisor handled it is what has had me wrapped up in anguish these past three days. The teacher and supervisor made us feel like it was ONLY Rex causing problems and in an e-mail to me and Mr. Dina, the supervisor said that the teacher told her that "Rex punched the other kid in the face." EXCUSE ME? PUNCHED? What happened to Jack, Sawyer, and Juliet on Lost last night was a PUNCH IN THE FACE. What Rex did wasn't even close. SICK!!! I mean...my goodness...what is wrong with these people? I am actually frightened for families that take this class in the future...if what Rex did gets overblown to that level, what are they going to do if (God forbid) another kid bites or kicks or pushes to the point of causing an ACTUAL injury? Call the cops on the kid? I mean, really!

All right...thanks for letting me vent. I am just very sad and the process of grieving over what happened includes writing about it!!! So...I appreciate you, my captive audience. :)

Back to the clothes that I wore. I decided that I needed to wear color. Besides the Rex thing, it was raining miserably out there. Yuck. So Mr. Dina took me and the babies to the mall...it felt good. Visiting Macy's and J. Crew always makes me feel better. CW enjoyed herself, too!

Orange, Purple, and Green for a Rainy Shopping Day! by dinagideon featuring Calvin Klein jeans

Here it is, full-length, no sweater. The top is from the Merona Collection (Spring 2009--Target). The jeans are Calvin Klein from Costco. The shoes are ANCIENT...from back in the '90s. They may be Naturalizer?

I really like the top. It is very slim...so it emphasizes my smaller half. The boat-neck is really pretty, too. It is not a top for everyone, but you know I don't shy away from color. ;)


Here is the sweater. I think it is called the Candace sweater and it is J. Crew from Summer 2008? The bright orange is such a happy color. The color perfectly matched the orange in the Merona top.

You all have a great day...and remember...avoid the Bug Walks and Critter Talks Class...ESPECIALLY if your two-year old acts like a two-year old. SMILE!!!

Our Hot Day at Riverbend Park...in a Boden Top!!! Plus, a Review of the Miss Trish of Capri for Target Sandals!!!

Boden Top for a Hot Day in DC!!! by dinagideon on Polyvore.com



This is the outfit I wore today to go take Rex to his Bug Walks and Critter Talks class. It is a lot of fun...they have all sorts of awesome creatures for us to check out...but today we needed to dress right for the weather. I don't know about you all, but here in the mid-Atlantic it was like 95 degrees. Insane. Don't worry--I LOVE this weather. Always have, always will. I don't know how my ancestors can be Scandinavian...I definitely did not inherit their love of cold weather.

The top is the Boden top I spoke about in the previous post. I ordered in 2007 after I had Rex. I ordered it in a 12 (size 8 here) but didn't realize that Boden truly means what it says about its sizes...they are true to their measurements. I couldn't wear it until I was almost 5 months postpartum. With CW I was able to wear it sooner, but of course, it was winter, so I chose not to. This is a light cotton button-up. Not the best material for keeping you warm. I bought it because I love the print so much!!! (Their prints are either love or hate. I love. A lot. But of course I love the Campo di Fiore print from J. Crew that a lot of people really hated...hmm.)

The capris are just some Target purchase for like 15 dollars. They are a color I needed so I bought them. They wrinkle very easily but suit this look and some of my other looks perfectly. Plus, if you are a dork like me, the fact that you can roll the pants to two different shorts lengths (bermuda and a slighter shorter bermuda--11 and 9 inches, respectively) really gets me excited. (Not chic in the least--haha--some of you will get that statement!)

The shoes are Miss Trish of Capri for Target. The review will come at the bottom, but they look so sweet with this outfit. No, don't worry, I did not take them out for the bug walk. They just came out for the other activities...some old J. Crew flip-flops went on the walk instead.


This is a close-up of the fabric and print. LOVE IT! The teal and red and white are so summery and fun. You will probably see me wearing this again, real soon. :) Plus, I am going to clip this to Polyvore...so expect some sets with it!


Okay, the Miss Trish sandals. They fit true to size (I wear a ten narrow). The shoe is a bit wide, but obviously I expect that if I wear a narrow. I almost went down to a 9.5, but am glad I didn't. My feet totally cover the foot-bed (which is all leather). The uppers are man-made. The red you see here is the true color. Very pretty color, almost a brick red. The starfish are also very pretty, in real life (unlike my un-pedicured toenails...but who has the time...not me). I was totally worried about the starfish falling off...but no worries, they are bolted in with hardware. You can actually spin the starfish...Rex is gonna love that when he discovers it! All in all, I have to say this purchase was totally worth it. 29.99 is a great price for something that is well-made and very unique.

I had first heard about these shoes from sparrowsandsparkles in her post here. I also happen to own the sandals with the turtle. :)

Have a great day!!!

Why Fairfax County Rec Centers Rock...

This is a non-J. Crew/fashion post, so if you have a desire to see that sort of post, I promise my next post is for you. This is a post to let the moms/dad/kids of the DC area learn about the amazing facilities that are located right here and are very inexpensive, too.

I grew up in Arlington, and my dad pretty much kept us inside the Arlington borders, with occasional jaunts to DC and Alexandria. Whoo. We lived it up, baby.

I was nearly 20 years old before I realized what an amazing resource Fairfax County Recreation Centers are. I had been to one (formerly called Wakefield--now Audrey Moore) for a swim meet championship for all the local independent schools back in 1992, but had not understood that this rec center was a place for singles, couples and families alike to rock out and have a great time.

It wasn't until my (infamous) boyfriend who wanted me all skinny (re)-introduced me to these centers that I was hooked. He introduced me because he wanted me to swim off all my excess poundage, and I loved swimming, so I was game. We went to the Lee District Rec Center for this...and although he is LONG gone (and in Williamsburg to boot), I still go on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to the Lee Rec Center. I love it that much!!!

I tend to go to swim, take a class (yoga, pilates, you name it), walk on their indoor track, play in their soft-play room with the kids (you'll see this in a minute), heck, it is so good that Jim waited in the cold in the wee hours of the morning to get Rex into a preschool there next year. I even have coached on and off there for the past six years.

Well, imagine my surprise when the awesome Rec Centers got even more AWESOME. Opened a few years ago (before I had kids), Cub Run Rec Center is as Jim puts it, "the rec center by which all rec centers must be judged." Now we only get there twice a month as it is in far western Fairfax County (Chantilly) and quite a haul for us Alexandrians. BUT, AND I WILL WRITE THIS IN CAPS BECAUSE I AM SO SERIOUS, IT IS WORTH THE HAUL AND TROUBLE. This Rec Center not only has a full-fledged gym, a beautiful lap pool (which I swim in before we play), but it also has an amazing INDOOR WATER PARK. That's right, an indoor water park at County rates and supported through County taxes. Now I hate taxes, and often believe they are used poorly by the government, but Fairfax County made the right decision to support this. Every time we go to the Rec Centers (any of them), we as a family have such a nice time.

What follows is a photographic journey of two of our favorite family activities...1) A visit to Cub Run's Indoor Water Park; and 2) A Blast Off for Babies Class in Lee Rec Center's Soft Play Room (made for tots only).

Here is CW swimming (with daddy's help) in the indoor water park at Cub Run. I am huge believer in getting kids in the pool as early as possible, but only with certified instructors. Obviously I am certified (coaching and teaching swimming to kids for years), but if you aren't able to teach your kids yourself, the Rec Centers also have swim lessons for ages 6 months plus.

The water in the indoor water park is really nice and warm, so CW was able to swim around for about 30 minutes. Her cute little wrinkled feet made me swoon! :)

Rex is shown here playing with the spouts near the toddler play area. The water park also has two indoor slides, a whirlpool, a mini-lazy river, and some sort of vortex play circle.

Here are Rex and I just hamming it up for the camera. By the way, all of these water shots are taken with my Olympus 720SW...a camera especially made for using at the beach and underwater.

To find out more about Cub Run Rec Center, go here: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/rec/wcrec.htm

To find out more about the sw720 by Olympus, go here: http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_archived_product_details.asp?fl=2&id=1225

Now onto Lee Rec Center's Soft Play Room (these were taken while in Rex's Blast Off for Babies class--which being two, he has sadly outgrown--tis okay, they have the zoom around the room class for older tots).

Soft Play Room happily has a ball pit. Rex is shown jumping into the pit, while CW stares from the distance. There is a jaunty orange ball coming at the camera. Fun times all around!!!

For those of you who are germ-a-phobes, I am assured that the room is wiped clean with some heavy duty disinfectants once a night. I have never, ever seen it not be anything but spic and span clean.


CW playing with the balls. SHE loves this playroom. Technically she is too young for this room and class, but the organizers get that she is our daughter and that we take full responsibility if anything were to happen to here. Give me a break, though...it is a SOFT play room. It is like us worrying about her teddy bear coming and eating her. We have better things to keep us up at night!

Rex, CW, and Jim hanging out on the soft-play slide. Even the floor is soft. It is like a multi-colored roll of Charmin bath tissue in there.

Rex playing with the soft rocking fish.

I love this room in the winter because it allows him/soon her to be active when it is truly grody outside...

For more on Lee Rec Center, visit here: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/rec/leerec.htm

Families of the DC area, I hope to see you all soon!

Snow Leopard Harlow Blouse on a Cloudy Day!

First things first--I am in a bit of a funk today. I have heard that if you get no sleep one night and you get plenty of sleep the next, it doesn't matter because you actually are fueled with the sleep from the night before last. So right now I am running on the fumes of the two hours of sleep I got on the night of the fire.

I also PROMISE to respond to all of your awesome comments since yesterday afternoon, but it may have to wait until later this evening. But if you regularly read my blog, you know I am pretty good about responding to everyone!

By the way, since so many of you are keeping my neighbors in your thoughts and prayers, they seem to be doing okay, but still have so much to cope with. We walked over there last night and their home is a shell and there is trash, debris, and burned items everywhere. The home on the left of theirs even sustained some damage (the shutters actually melted from the heat of the fire).

My outfit today is okay. Neither here nor there, really. I like it...and think it is professional and pretty. But it is not as colorful as I usually am. But since I am not feeling all that colorful myself, it is a good mood-matcher!

This is the polyvore of the outfit. The cords, blouse, and belt are all J. Crew. The coat is actually a Banana Republic trench I got a few years ago for a song. The watch is my Fossil watch and the shoes are Nine West that look exactly like these from J. Crew.

The link to the polyvore is here: http://www.polyvore.com/snow_leopard_harlow_blouse_on/set?id=7137804

Now for those of you that are regular followers of this blog may recall seeing this blouse on me before, but belted with a yellow-patent belt. The last time I wore this blouse, I also wore the claire pants in white, the grey herringbone aubrey jacket, and the etta peep-toe suede shoes.

The link to the last time I wore the blouse is here: http://mysuperfluities.blogspot.com/2009/01/sophisticated-in-school.html

I personally am amazed at how I styled the outfit very similarly, even though I hadn't intended to. I knew that I would use my new patent belt in dusty rose (thank you, Ashley) to belt it but I thought I would be making a whole new look. Well, not really.

Doesn't matter because I like the look. I will point out one thing...I do notice a difference in the way pants fit me. I believe I weighed almost 7 pounds more in the January version of this outfit. I think I lost all of my weight recently in my lower-half, which if you are a pear like me means it's time to CELEBRATE. Nothing like a picture to remind you of how far you have come!

Here is the outfit with the trench unbuttoned. I think (now that I look at the picture) that I will add a colorful brooch to the lapel of this jacket. I bet that would really make the jacket seem less boring!

Here is the jacket closed. A nice, well-fitting jacket, but definitely in need of something! If the brooch approach (heehee) doesn't work, maybe a fun, lightweight scarf could...

Just so you know, the jacket is more accurately depicted (color-wise) in the second shot. Something funky went on with my camera's flash in the first photo (the one with the jacket open) so all the colors are off.

Please Keep My Neighbors in Your Thoughts and Prayers...

There will be no outfit of the day for me today. I will post the outfit I wore yesterday, but I had no energy this morning to put towards making an outfit. (The one I am wearing is fine, but I just didn't have the heart to photograph and make a polyvore for it.)

Last night, after getting home from yoga at 8:15 pm, I decided to start dinner for myself. I went into the sunroom to talk with Jim and Rex, and I saw a firetruck coming down the cul-de-sac. To me, this is not really anything special. We live two houses from a nursing home and they ALWAYS (unfortunately) get visits from our local firehouse. Assuming that the truck was there for them, I started to move back to the kitchen. That is when I saw it, the bright orange flames. Freaking out, I ran out of the house down in the direction of the fire. I wanted desperately to know the people in the house were okay (must be because I am a mom). I was the third on-looker. This house was located five houses from us.

The other two people outside assured me that the family had moved out and were remodeling the home. The firemen needed to be sure so they (VERY BRAVELY) jumped through the flames and started busting windows open. There were fireworks going off, flames jumping through the air, plumes of smoke, and here they were, risking their lives to make sure everyone was okay.

Once the firemen determined the fire was too out of control (happened really fast--like 2 minutes after I showed up on the scene), they moved to put out what had become a towering inferno. This fire had grown so large that the houses on either side were in danger of become casualties themselves. The trees were started to burn and the gas line had exploded (that was awful to see). We live on a VERY forested area (my backyard, as well as the burning house and others, back onto protected parkland), so this means with the right conditions a fire can spread rapidly.

By 11 pm the fire was out (mostly), but even this morning, the house's foundations and foliage were still smoldering.

The family was not in the house, but they obviously still own and love their property. Please, if you could, pray or keep in your thoughts this family who lost so much last night.

Here is what the Washington Post had to say about this fire:

Fierce brush fires raged across sections of Prince George's and Fairfax counties yesterday, threatening houses and prompting vigorous efforts to protect property.
A woman living near the Fairfax fire, which was in the Baileys Crossroads area, said the blaze there appeared to have engulfed a house in the ***** block of ***** Lane.
It's "such a huge fire," said the woman. She said the neighborhood, off Seminary Road, is known as Dowden Terrace and is heavily wooded.
By last night when the Fairfax fire was reported, the day's strong winds had apparently abated.
****************************************************

The rest of the article mentions (ANOTHER) fire from PG County:
But fire officials in Prince George's said the wind helped spread a brush fire in the 9200 block of Allentown Road.
About 3 p.m., the swiftly moving fire was heading toward back yards of homes on a cul-de-sac in the 3400 block of Wayneswood Road, said Mark Brady, a spokesman for the county's fire and emergency medical services department.
Brady said the fire consumed sheds, patio furniture and other yard items.
It was a few feet from homes when firefighters arrived and stopped the advance, he said.

My Walk Home...or Two Miles of Sheer Pleasure...

I think this post may be a bit boring for all of the ladies (and men) who usually visit for J. Crew or fashion related stuff, but I love my walk home. It is like a beautiful study in contrasts. On one hand you have the real gritty feel of a walk in a city, and then halfway through, you enter into a world of suburbia and trees. This is why I walk home (besides the fact that it is about a MILLION times better than driving--I grew up in NOVA and driving here STRESSES me out). I love being able to see an area that coexists side by side that is so different, like night and day (I know I just used a very tired simile). This is my two-mile walk home (which I sometimes reverse to walk to school). I do this walk upwards of three times a week.


This is the beginning of my walk. I exit the school building and there are the school buses (by the way, why is it spelled buses and not busses?). This view I love because it means I am going home and I get to see my kids!


This is the medical building across from where I teach. You can see this building from 395. It is an interesting mid-century building and has a very austere sort of presence. I like that this building exists and hasn't been torn down. It seems a lot of folks don't like this particular architectural style, but it is important (especially if the building is sound) to leave a few examples of this type of building up in the world. If you tear down every building from this period, there will be no more physical proof of them in the world, and frankly, that would be sad.

On a personal note, this is where Rex and CW have their doctor, the awesome Dr. Brendan Sullivan. Their office is moving to a location even closer to our house, but for now they are still here. I will mention, for full disclosure, that even though I think this building is really cool-looking, it has horrible parking and the elevators are atrocious. So it really is no wonder that our doctors are leaving.


There is a personal reason I took this photo. There used to be a restaurant called Steak and Ale here, and my dad, brother, grandpa, and I used to go here all the time. It closed in 1990 or something like that, but here it still stands, unoccupied in 2009. Wow. I wonder what the inside looks like. The only use this building has is its parking lot, used by the doctors of the building in the picture before this one.


Okay, this I put this picture up because I sometimes think I am the only one who follows this rule. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen people (children from my school, too) ignore this sign and cross over the road that leads to the highway. IDIOTS. IDIOTS! People in their cars drive like maniacs and here are our precious darlings crossing in front of them to save what, two minutes at most? Give me a break. It's not like the pedestrian overpass is much safer(you'll see in the photo after the next one), but more safe than what most people do. Seriously, people, if the sign is there, it is there for a reason. Ugh.

Okay, here is one of my favorite views during my walk. Seen from the pedestrian walkway, the Southern Towers of western Alexandria rise from the flat earth like some sort of brick amazons. I also like the way these buildings line up just so...it is fairly obvious that the architect had that in mind when placing the buildings in this arrangement. These are more buildings done in the mid-century style (most of this area was built up in the 50s, 60s, and 70s). Now I don't know when it was built exactly, but from the brief research I just did, sometime between '60 and '65 seems right.

I wouldn't necessarily say to people, "oh, go live there," but I do love the way it looks and how you can see it from many places in Alexandria. I bet the views from the top floors are spectacular, too!

Okay, here is the most unsafe part of my walk (thank God it is brief). Crossing over 395, pedestrians are forced to walk on this thin bit of concrete next to traffic that is OBLIVIOUS to the walkers. I swear I have seen cars whizzing by at upwards of 50 mph. I am not even kidding. I always give mean, dirty looks, but they probably don't give a cr**. This bus was even going pretty fast (at around 40 mph). Good thing I have good balance. I would hate to accidentally fall and have a car run me over at a fast clip. Really what the city of Alexandria needs to do is install a guardrail on the other side of the sidewalk (not just the part that protects you from falling onto 395). That could help this walk a bit.

In the distance you can see the Mark Center Hilton. Yet another high-rise on my walk home.

Here is the view of late-afternoon (Wednesday in early February 2009) traffic on 395 Southbound. You will notice that the middle HOV lanes are empty. I guess very few people have the requisite 3 people or Clean-fuel car to use the lanes. We always get to use the lanes...love the 2 kids plus 2 adults equals four, one more than is needed. That said, the traffic in the regular lanes wasn't too bad the day of this walk. I have seen it WAY WORSE. I always like to think that every once in a while, someone will look up from their car and feel a slight jab of jealousy that I get to walk home. I know I used to feel that way when I worked in the District and had a heinous commute!

So now on this photographic journey we are officially in my neighborhood. This is when the skyline loses the large buildings (well, barring this set of homes which gets to see the Mark Center Hilton). Now the homes are low to the ground and modest. There are trees everywhere and if you sit in one place, cars don't whiz by constantly (even though some people use the 'hood as a cut-through). It is so funny...one second you feel like you are in a mini-city, and then the next second, you feel like you are in the most suburban neighborhood on the planet.

Our neighborhood was pretty much built at the same time as all the buildings featured in the pics above, mid-50s to mid-60s. There are some later homes, but they are at the fringes of the neighborhood. We are a mid-century neighborhood. This is a perfect example of a mid-century home. It has the split-level entrance and lots of windows, brick and siding, and a mix of different types of windows (some sliding, some small, some large).

Here is another set of perfectly placed mid-century modern homes.

For more on these types of homes and neighborhoods, visit mid-century Mike over at his blog: http://www.moderncapital.blogspot.com/

So here I am, mid-walk, no make-up, listening to my IPOD (ancient...from 2004), with my Vera Bradley Medallion backpack. I am not vain enough not to show you how much I love this walk, even if it means you people get to see me with no makeup. By the way, this was that day that was SO PRETTY...something like 70 degrees. IN FEBRUARY! Gotta love the DC Area weather...

So this is into the neighborhood a bit, and I took a pic of this intersection because it bothers me so much! The car that you see has a stop sign, while the cars that would pass his path do not. It irks me to no end that these cars with the stop sign will not even bother pausing after they stop because they just ASSUME that the other cars have a stop sign. We have nearly gotten into multiple accidents because of this. I say either install stop signs for all of us, or make it blatantly clear to the people with the stop sign that the other traffic has no stop sign. I think this intersection is a problem because this is a jurisdictional no-mans land...this is RIGHT at the border between Alexandria City and the Alexandria part of Fairfax County (aka the "forgotten part of Fairfax County). Sigh.

This car is right at the end of our street. I always know I am really close to my house when I see this incomprehensible bumper sticker. I figure the person who drives it is an uber-feminist, but the sticker is real tough to understand. My husband and I love discovering really obscure bumper stickers and lucky for us, one is on our block! Hurrah! Any thoughts on what this sticker means exactly?

Almost home...yippee! I hope you have enjoyed the walk. If you read this whole post, you are either: 1) Roxie; 2) someone related to me; 3) REALLY bored at work; 4) fascinated by mid-century stuff like me; or 5) into mundane things and how people can talk about their lives without end. :)

By the way, part of my 30-plus pound weight loss has been from my walks to and from school. I think I will keep it up!

Fun (and tears) with Rex in the snow...

So the snow came and went and left in its place some awful ice. Ugh. Our driveway is impossible to get up, and the street itself (where it is shady) is an ice rink. I only got to school today because my dad came and met me in the neighborhood where the ice had melted. I wonder how many other people had to make contingency plans because they were unable to get out of their unplowed 'hood. Thanks, Fairfax County...you truly make us on our street feel like the "forgotten part of Fairfax County." Anyone else who lives in Bailey's Crossroads feel like we do? I mean why bother being part of the largest, wealthiest county in Virginia if your services are nil when you need it the most?

That said, on Tuesday afternoon when the snow was pretty and fluffy, we decided to let Rex have some fun outside. His birth, February 12th (almost February 13th), 2007 was the last time it really snowed in the DC area. Therefore, he has actually never really experienced snow. Turns out he loves it...a little too much!

Here is our house in the snow. Jim is shoveling the longest darn driveway in the world. And although it is hard to tell from the pic, the driveway is a hill going down. The carport is not really visible from the street. Even when I pitched in we barely made a dent.

Rex is looking ready to pounce on the snow, which is what he did three seconds after this shot was taken.

I taught Rex to throw snowballs. LOVED IT! I probably shouldn't have, but ehh, we don't get snow enough here to make me nervous about him getting really good at it.

Here is Rex and I about to head in for the day. That boy is impervious to the cold. Look at his belly, all exposed. Does he care? No. Do I? Yes.

Because it was freezing and his little hands were like icicles, I brought him in after ten minutes. OOOOH! He was ANGRY! He stood at the door and screeched for about twenty minutes. It was quite dramatic. Behavior like this makes me and Jim very reluctant to let him do fun things, but we hear they outgrow these temper tantrums. Let's hope!