I hope Santa was good to you!

I hope everyone had a very very Merry Christmas! I'm back in DC after a week in Roanoke with my family! Santa was very good to my family this year and I had a lot of fun in the past week despite suffering from a moderate cold/sinus thing. It's not all that fun being sick on Christmas but it only lasted a few days and I'm well on the road of recovery. And Santa helped make me forget about how bad I felt when I got a new electric keyboard and three new lamps!

Our house (well it's my sister's house now) was full, busy and loud for eight days. Laura, Katherine, and my mom did a wonderful job with all the cooking- actually I think everyone besides me did some of the cooking throughout the week. And it was a very enjoyable time at home. I'm sure my niece Cayton is having a hard time adjusting to normal since our departures. But she was sooo much fun to play with even from my sick bed. A definite highlight was playing with her new toys like Baby Alive who poops and pees in a diaper. And she has the new Bella Dancerella DVD/game. I'm sure people driving by the window slowed down to see her and her two aunts, and at times her MiMi and at times her Daddy, dancing around the family room like Princesses. MiMi (my mom) was rather impressed with my dance moves/coordination, especially without dancing lessons like Aunt Kay! It's hard work dancing like a princess!!

But it was truly great to play games and spend time with my family, the Casolas (who are practically family!), and some other friends of mine throughout the week. On two different occasions, I had coffee/lunch with friends from high school who I hadn't seen in years which was totally fun to catch up with them! There were many people I didn't get to see this trip so I guess I'll have to go back sometime soon!

I know this is sad for all of you as it is for me but tomorrow is my last day of my vacation. I agreed to work whenever the Pres comes back to town and he's decided to come back a day early so I will be working on Tuesday. Thanks Mr. Bush!!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family and random people who read my blog!!

I've been on vacation since the 14th and in the meantime, I've celebrated a birthday, finished my Christmas shopping, hung out with several friends, and now I'm home for Christmas with my family! All of these activities may not sound as thrilling as some of the experiences I have for work but they are definitely more meaningful to me! I hope you are enjoying these holidays with friends and loved ones and eating a lot of good food!! I wanted to pass along my Christmas greetings from me and some of my closest friends!!!


Ok, so they aren't my closest friends but I did want to pass along the photos from the various functions! Notice the Prez's hand draped over my shoulder- pretty convincing that we're tight, right? And I tried to "auto correct" my picture with the First Lady but my hair was still messed up and I still had wrinkles on my clothes so it obviously didn't work! Oh well!!

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Partying with the Bushes

My Christmas party circuit has come to an end. It's been a busy social week! Thursday was the White House Christmas party, which is always a favorite of mine! My parents were my guests. Well, technically you can only bring one person but let's just say that I know people in high places! Everyone was impressed that I somehow figured out how to bring more than one person! Actually two years ago, I took my sister and brother-in-law so that Laura and George could meet Laura and George. Anyway, Mom and Dad had a great time, despite being nervous! They drove up on Thursday morning and before I went to work, I went through what it was going to be like, what the food was, what not to do, etc. They promised to behave and not to embarrass me. To be honest, I thought their expectations were not going to be met but they had a great time!!

One of my past guests told me it was just like going to an office party, but it happened to be at the White House and some of the entertainment was meeting the leader of the free world. It's true. For most of the evening, I introduced Mom and Dad to my co-workers and colleagues from the other networks. I'm sure they were never able to keep track of who's who but they were gracious anyway! The greatest part about bringing your parents to the office party is that people feel obligated to say nice things about you to them, true or not true. So I heard many nice things said. I've got a lot of people pay off now!!!

Of course the highlight is the picture taking time with the Bushes. It's all a very organized process and in all honesty, it's over before you realize that you've just met the President and the First Lady. They just stand there for literally hours every single night and get their picture taken with guests. So they have to pretend to enjoy this task for each and every person. And maybe they like it because they are quite convincing. I think they make that 10-second time frame for each person pretty special. This is my fourth Christmas party and picture. Each year, they act like they know me more and more. Granted, they do see me quite frequently and Mr. Bush waves at me every single time he sees me when he boards Marine One or Air Force One. But I'm pretty sure he doesn't really know my name. He's probably seen my name on multiple occasions but we're not buds. Anyway, here's the transcript of the exchange of the few seconds...

AIR FORCE STEWARD: Becky and her parents Dave and Carolyn (last names have been omitted in the transcript but they were announced)

POTUS: (interrupting) BBBBEEECCCCCCKKKKYYYYYYY! (He gives me a half-hug of some sort)

BECKY: Thank you Mr. President for having us here. Merry Christmas!

FLOTUS: Great to see you once again! Thanks for coming! (I had just seen her last week and had my photo taken)

POTUS: Mom! Dad!! Great to see you! Thanks for coming! Dad, stand over here.

(there is a little bit of confusion because his instructions are different than the Air Force steward's and there is protocol involved here!)

(My parents also introduced themselves to the Bushes and we all "chatted" but I don't remember what they said.)

In our photo, he has his arm around me like we're total BFFs! The whole scene was hysterical because it really looked like they were glad to see me and we were tight. I think my parents were quite impressed! Heck, I was quite impressed too! I can't wait to see how the picture turned out! No matter what it looks like, it will be hanging in my parents' house for the rest of time so I hope it looks okay!

We were some of the last people out of the WH when they gently start kicking you out. We got just past the gate and my mom said that she wasn't feeling well, had to sit down and she wasn't going to be able to walk to the car. So she sat down on a concrete bench and wanted me to bring the car to her (which is an impossibility because Penn. Ave. has been closed to cars for years and years now.) But I went to ask the Secret Service officer what my options were. While I was over at the guard shack talking, my mom ends up on the ground, laying on the sidewalk. A concerned colleague of mine from another network, told me we should call 911. The officer sent out a page and literally in 15 seconds, there were four USSS cars surrounding her, giving her oxygen, taking blood etc. She was feeling a little bit better but the DC paramedics told her she needed to go to the ER but she didn't want to. I told her they knew what they were talking about and we shouldn't take any chances. So they loaded her into the back of the ambulance and my dad and I rode down Penn. Ave. in the ambulance to GWU hospital, several blocks away. I hadn't ever been in an ambulance before and I hadn't driven down Penn. Ave. recently (I think I have been in the motorcade there a while back.) Anyway, long story made somewhat shorter, they ran a bunch of tests on her and there was some concern about possible blood clotting but she's fine now. They released her at 5a (I brought my dad home about 2:30 so he could get some sleep and I took a little nap until I went back to pick her up.) They left yesterday and things are fine now.

It was probably the most memorable WH Christmas Party. In addition to it being a really fun party and getting to see my friend, it just ended in a unique way! First of all, I'm thankful Mom is okay. But I am also thankful it happened where it did so she could get immediate medical attention. I was also touched by the outpouring of concern of my colleagues. I knew they were nice people but they more than proved it by their messages, phone calls, visits. (My boss wouldn't let me come into work on Friday which was incredibly nice!)

Here were my initial thoughts from the slight scene on the sidewalk-

1) My mom is not allowed to see any more world leaders. (She had a fainting spell when she saw the Queen in May but that time it was 100 degrees and she hadn't eaten anything.)

2) Wow, her Christmas letter is going to be awesome this year!!

Tis the Season (for Cheese Grits)

I am so very much in the Christmas spirit! I can hardly stand it! Last week (and yesterday) I spent my days listening to Christmas carols and writing cards and shopping. Then in the evenings, I played the oboe for the Living Christmas Tree. The tree was a big success, at least the oboe part was! I love playing in it because the rest of the orchestra are professionals, most in the military bands. So no matter how I play, I automatically sound better! But everything went well and I am so relieved. I didn't mind being the co-chair this year but it's a lot of work! On Monday, I spent the day at the church taking that 4000 pound thing down! Well I'll be honest, I had some help! :) But it was hard work!

But one of the things I like so much about this time of year (beyond the obvious that we're celebrating Jesus's birth) is the Christmas party circuit. For work alone, I have four parties I was invited to. I skipped the one for my network over the weekend. But last night was the WH Correspondents party. Tonight I went to the Vice President's party and on Thursday it's the WH party. It's a good thing I like my co-workers (from my network and the other press) because we're socializing quite a bit this week! I had never been to the Veep's house before and it was a good party! The thing that's different about that party is that is a variety of people there- some Senators, other politicos, some press. I was the guest of one of my correspondents and I was very grateful for the opportunity to go. I admit it. I'm a nerd. It's cool to see famous people like Donald Rumsfeld and Newt Gingrich in person! The actual party was in a tent outside of the residence (albeit the nicest tent I have ever been in! I didn't feel like it wasn't part of the normal house!) But we went inside for our picture with the Cheneys. And the food was delicious! Including cheese grits! I know the WH is serving them too (see previous post!) Who knew this year would be the year of the cheese grits! Oh man how I love them! Plus we got a departing gift. I haven't quite figured out what it is but I will eventually!

Don't worry, I'll post the photo of me and the Cheneys as soon as I get it in the mail. I'm still waiting for the one of me and Laura from a couple of weeks ago!

A short work week!!

I'm only working two days this week (yesterday and today) because I've got vacation days to burn and the Living Christmas Tree at my church for the rest of the week. But not to worry, the WH folks have made sure that I've stayed busy. Yesterday there was a statement in the Rose Garden about urging Congress to pass spending bills, FISA, etc. I wish I could remember word for word what he said but I was distracted. The WH chefs were cooking chicken fried steak fingers and that's all I could smell. It smelled sooooooo good and I know they taste good (from our tasting last Thursday.) It was just a bit distracting because I was pretty hungry and all I wanted to eat for lunch were the chicken fried steak fingers. Do you know how hard it is to find those for lunch in DC?

Today there is a press conference. It's upstairs from our booth in the briefing room. The room is too small for me to be in there so I'll watch it on TV just like everyone else. All the action will be steps away from me but I'll miss it! Oh well!

Give Peace a Chance and the Week in Review

It's either feast of famine. Last week, there was absolutely nothing exciting going on and this week has been insane with activity! So I'm going to try to catch up in one big post! I apologize for the length in advance.


Speaking of feast, I shouldn't say NOTHING happened last week. It was Thanksgiving after all. I had the honor of being thankful at work on Thursday from 6a-1p at the WH which was absolutely deserted. I then headed to the bureau for the catered turkey dinner. Then the real highlight was getting to spend the afternoon at the Wingards with 16 others for a wonderful meal and tons of fun. After that I went over to the Myers' for more dinner and dessert and games. I actually skipped the third dinner and just went for the dessert. Even though I was not with my family (which is where I always prefer to be!), it was a really nice Thanksgiving and I was thankful for not only a great family but really, really terrific friends. (Side note, the last time I wasn't with my family for Thanksgiving, I was in Crawford, TX in a tent eating rice and lentils in the rain with Cindy Sheehan and 40 other protesters. So this year soooo ROCKED compared to that!!)


Ok, back to this week. Did I mention that I was quite busy? Monday through Wednesday, we had Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas in town for peace talks. It's not often that you can use "world peace" as a legitimate excuse for being busy but that was the case this week. Monday, I was in the bureau and produced the evening package (TV term for the nightly story with the reporter's voice with video and then soundbites) and I was planning for Tuesday's trip to Annapolis. There were sooooo many logistics that needed to be taken care of and not a whole lot of answers. But it all worked out.


On Tuesday, I spent about 15 hours at the US Naval Academy where the three leaders were all meeting together (along with about 40 other Arab countries.) It was a historic day because the leaders of Israel and the Palestinians agreed to try to agree. All of the world's problems were not solved in those 15 hours but it was considered more successful than anyone thought it was going to be. And even though I was there, I watched the whole thing on TV. Yep, I missed history in the making because I was too busy with liveshots and couldn't get away for the actual event. But I do have a press pass that says I was there and I guess I was closer than most of the world. Speaking of which, I think half the world was there in the media center. I've never seen so many journalists organized in one place before. We worked out of the basketball arena and I think there were at least 1000 journalists in the room. Security was pretty tight and most of the 1000 seemed like they had never been through a security sweep before. They were shocked when their blackberries set off the metal detectors. I was glad when Wednesday, everyone was back at the WH because it was much more controlled, less people, and a warmer place to work!


Thursday was my favorite day of the year working at the WH- the unveiling of the Christmas decorations. Yesterday morning, I found out at the last minute that I would be handling an interview with the First Lady for my network's morning show. All of the five networks were doing interviews with her so I just had to go represent mine and produce the interview from on site. (By the way, I can't really explain what that means in any terms that would mean anything to anyone but basically I'm just on the phone with the control room and making sure everything goes right.) Anyway, I got to see the decorations (this year's theme is the National Parks) firsthand with only a few other people there. The interview with the First Lady went off without a hitch. I had my picture taken with her in front of one of the trees (unfortunately not the official WH tree) but it was really nice of her to take time to have a picture made with me. I'll post it when I eventually get it from the WH photographer.


But here's the real highlight of the week. In a mid-morning event, the First Lady gave a tour of the decorations and then gave some remarks and took some questions about the decorations. This is one of the only events at the WH where you see a ton of people in the press corps that you've never seen before. Here's why... after her remarks in the East Room, the WH staff puts out the spread of food that they will serve at all the Christmas parties in the State Dining Room. And they invite the press to taste it all. Seriously, I had to pinch myself because this was actual work!! After my second plate of food that included lamb chops (my first taste of sheep in six weeks!) and ham and the best cheese grits ever and some tamales and some salad, etc., I was beginning to feel guilty that I had been gone from the booth for several hours. So I decided to try to feel better by tasting all of the desserts. It worked. They were awesome (except honestly, I was a little disappointed in the bread pudding but the chocolate cake more than made up for it.) The apple crisp and the Bûche de Noël (apparently words for an awesome yule log) were delicious. All of my research will pay off on December 13th when I go to the WH Christmas Party. I'm going to know which foods to concentrate on and which I can leave off my plate.


Today, I'm in travel pool which means I get to go to Mount Airy, MD for an event with the President on World AIDS day. We'll helicopter from the South Lawn (we technically leave from the Ellipse and he leaves from the South Lawn.) I'm convinced that helicoptering is really the way to travel in the DC area. My favorite part is when we arrive back at the WH. It's really really cool to chopper in over the mall by the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. It will be the perfect ending to an exciting week!

O Christmas Tree!

Yes, I realize it's before Thanksgiving and normally I wouldn't dare speak of Christmas decorations until Black Friday. But this year, I was asked to co-chair the Living Christmas Tree at my church. If you're not familiar, it's an enormous Christmas tree that we put up in the sanctuary and members of the choir stand in it and sing so they are like the ornaments! Words don't really convey how unique it is so hopefully you can check it out for yourself! I guess someone saw the word "producer" on my business card and thought I could do this. So far it's mainly been finding volunteers and delegating. One of my tasks was to help build the tree. Don't worry, I didn't actually do any of the construction. I borrowed a Bob the Builder construction hat from the 3-year classroom and just mainly "supervised" and helped out where I could. I carried parts of the tree and fluffed the greenery and in general just tried to encourage all the hard workers. It's a whole other world with all those construction terms flying around but I did learn a lot like what a BF2 is and what a crazy nut looks like! (I thought that was just a term they were using to refer to me!) None of these new skills are transferable to any other part of my life but now putting up my 4 foot tree is going to be a piece of cake!! The LCT is only about three weeks away!

Speaking of the Christmas season- my friend Larry sent this to me and it made me laugh so I thought I'd share it....

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9558727443

Oh wait! I forgot about the Japanese!

My international diplomacy streak continued last week with a quick visit from the new Prime Minister of Japan, Yasuo Fukuda. I had spent quality time (well I was along for the ride) with the old guy, Koizumi when we went to Graceland in June '06 but Fukuda is two PMs later and this was his first trip to the WH. The statement by the two leaders was in the Cross Hall and the press was just shoved in a very small place in the foyer. I didn't realize that the Japanese press corps was so tall. I found myself watching the event from the second rung of a ladder just so I could see. So far, there's no story that the President tells of Fukuda. I have heard his story about his dad fighting against Koizumi's dad in WWII at least a hundred times. Hopefully he'll come up with some new material with this new guy!

Third time's a charm!

I ended my week of world leaders with a trip to the President's ranch today to see Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany. That makes three world leaders this week. Covering world diplomacy has been quite busy this week!

Today was my first time actually ON the President's ranch. Some people think we just hang out at the ranch and help him clear brush but really we're at Crawford Elementary/Middle School eating ice cream all day (see one of my first posts!). I've only even been close to his property one time last summer. This time I got to see his office building, where today's presser was and where and the two leaders had their meeting. On today's trip out there, we were accompanied by many many members of the German press. (All I have to say is that I hope they don't judge our entire country by what's in Crawford.) One of the German chicks stood right in front of me taking pictures the entire press conference but I managed to sneak a couple of pictures in when she bent down. The other problem I had is that the two people the President called on were both standing RIGHT next to me so I had to pretend like I was busy writing down every word the President said. I couldn't let the Pres catch me ONLY taking pictures.

All in all it was an enjoyable trip out to the ranch. One of the deputy press secretaries drove me out there (there was no room in the van due to the Germans). I tried to get all kinds of secrets out of him but he wouldn't budge!! But all went smoothly and my pool duties were completed without a hitch. I celebrated the successful event by eating none other than some Blue Bell ice cream!!

A Couple Days Behind

This week has been a little busier than in past weeks and yet I'm neglecting staying up to date on my blog. I hope you'll be able to forgive me. Wednesday afternoon, I was at Mount Vernon with the President and President Sarkozy of France. It was rather chilly but George W. (the original)'s house made for a great background. Don't get too concerned. While we were freezing in our seats, they brought out space heaters for the two leaders. I ended up sitting next to the executive director for Mt. Vernon and a representative from the Mt. Vernon's Womens Association so I got even more background information than most of my colleagues. They were telling me the historically significance in Wednesday's meeting- it was the first time two world leaders had met inside Mount Vernon since Washington and Rochambeau planned the Battle of Yorktown. I can't wait until the next time I go to Mt. Vernon and see the pictures of Wednesday on the wall and I can say that I was there.

Then yesterday, I spent the day in San Antonio at the Brooke Army Medical Clinic and the Center for the Intrepid. Bush met with wounded warriors and toured the facilities. We got to take a tour of the place after he did and it was fascinating. Everyone at that center has lost at least one limb in either Iraq or Afghanistan. It was a bit difficult for me to not stare but the more soldiers I saw, the more moved I was to see what they had gone through. One of the cool things about the Center for the Intrepid is they have a fake wave maker thingy (like on a cruise ship) for therapy. They also have a couple of rock climbing walls. We saw a soldier scaling the wall. He had lost both legs and is now legally blind (he had a fake eyeball with a University of Kentucky logo in place of the iris). It was amazing considering I can't do that with two legs and two eyes. Anyway, the whole place is funded completely by private citizens and it's definitely a state-of-the-art facility.

Now I'm spending the rest of the weekend in sunny Crawford, TX. The weather is actually really beautiful. President Merkel of Germany is visiting the Prez for the next couple of days. I'll see her tomorrow when they have a press conference. In the meantime, the Texas German Society provided us with pastries. Even though I've already had three meals and two servings of ice cream today, I felt that it would be good for international relations for me to eat the pastries. Someone told me they were Danishes but for some reason the term "German Danish" just doesn't sound right.

Parade of Nations

This week has been a busy one at the WH and it's only Wednesday! Three different world leaders are meeting with the big guy this week and it looks like I will see all of them. On Monday, we kicked the week off talking turkey with the Prime Minister of Turkey. Ok, they probably didn't discuss the bird but it was a big news day in that we knew that Bush would respond to the crisis going on in Pakistan. Usually the meetings last about an hour and the press gets to go in at the end. On Monday, we waited and waited and waited for the travel pool to go in (we were travel pool and my colleague Ed went in as the TV representative). Finally after about two hours, they let the pool in and the President and Prime Minister gave some comments. It threw my afternoon off and I ended up having to eat out of the vending machine. But I realized it was for a good cause... they were literally discussing world peace and on the scale of important things, my lunch rates way at the bottom!

Yesterday, the President of France came to town. They had a social dinner and entertainment last night which I wasn't here for. But today they are spending the day at Mount Vernon. As you've seen in a previous post of mine, I love that place! So I volunteered to skip my afternoon nap and go there this afternoon for the press conference. I probably won't be able to show my Mt. Vernon members card today to get in but I've already used it three times this year. Come to think of it, I should have volunteered to give Sarkozy (French pres) and Bush the tour. I think I remember most of it! Thanks to the wonderful museum there, I understand exactly why Bush is taking Sarkozy there! I think it will be a pretty cool experience!

Across the country and back!

On Thursday, I went with the Prez to San Diego for the day to tour the damage of the wildfires. Except that I didn't get anywhere near a wildfire.

Generally flying across the country and back is not recommended as a day trip but when you're with the Prez, anything is possible. Actually, I wasn't on the plane with Mr. Bush- we were on our chartered plane that left at 5a ET. Luckily I was able to get in a couple of hours of good sleep on the way out there or I wouldn't have made it through the day!

Anyway, as we flew in to the San Diego, you could see all the smoke from the fires (actually we saw smoke as far away as Arizona) and as soon as we got off the plane, the stench of the smoke just filled our lungs (and as I mentioned earlier, we weren't really that close to any fires). I'm not sure where the closest fire was but the smoke still knocked you down where we were.

Speaking of where we were, we hung out at Miramar MCAS, better known as the location of the filming of Top Gun. I spent some time looking for Tom Cruise but no such luck! Actually we did our liveshots right in front of Air Force One which was slightly unusual for us but made a pretty shot.

The best part about my long day, besides the fact that everything went very smoothly, was that our chartered plane was Jet Blue which meant I didn't miss any of my TV viewing (which by the way has decreased significantly over the years!) Since we have our own row, we have control over three TVs. So I had one on the World Series game, one on the Office, and the other one on the Virginia Tech game. I hardly slept on the flight home since I had so much to keep me entertained! However, I'm still very bummed about the Tech game. I watched the whole thing and when I got off the plane, it was 10-0 with a little less than 3 minutes in the game. By the time I got to my car (five to ten minutes later) we had lost the game! I can't believe it!! What happened to my Hokies???

***UPDATE: I neglected to mention in my posting over the weekend on how I got the honor of going to San Diego last week. It probably wasn't my turn to travel but I had volunteered. Check that, I had volunteered because originally we were supposed to go to St. Louis for the day. So I signed up because my sister Katherine lives there and I knew it was going to work out for her to come visit me wherever I was working for the day! I haven't seen K since she and Mark visited me in April (just before my blogging days... otherwise you would have heard all about their visit!). I was really looking forward to see her last Thursday and then late on Tuesday night, I found out that we were scrapping the trip to St. Louis and going to CA instead because of the fire. While in the newsworthiness realm, it was the right decision. But in the sister realm, I was upset! Luckily, the President has rescheduled his trip and I'll once again volunteer to go see Katherine!

That's what friends are for

My computer desk fell apart shortly before I left for K-stan. One of the first things I did when I got home was to head out to buy a new, inexpensive one. On the box it said "no tools required" and "easy assembly". Now I didn't have any jet lag nor was I stressed from anything else but I just couldn't figure it out. It was maddening to me since I had put together my former computer desk. I was so proud of myself back in 1998 when I followed the 65 pages of instructions and made a beautiful, much more complicated computer hutch! This time, there were very very few words on the directions. Just a series of pictures and arrows. I think I hit the wall when I couldn't figure out where to put the glue. I got about five pages into the directions when I just stopped and had to have a good cry. I felt like a complete failure. I know they didn't have words so as not to offend illerate people putting together computer hutches but this was ridiculous. If you know how to use a computer, you should be able to put together an "easy assembly" desk. But not me.

That's where friends come into the picture. I called Joe and Katie for some help and they promise to rescue me from my fragile state. They couldn't come immediately so I left all 127 pieces scattered about my living room. They came over Saturday and made some magic. It did make me feel better that they thought it wasn't as easy as the box implied. They are masters of these sorts of things. So voila! It was assembled after a couple of hours and a break for some Chinese food. We ended up with several extra pieces of hardware that we didn't use but heck, it looks like it's put together. So far, it's been two days and it's still been standing every time I see it. I even sneezed yesterday and it didn't fall apart. So I'm confident it will last at least a couple of years which is all I ask! Thanks Joe and Katie!

Eating off the floor

Sorry folks that it's been several days since I've blogged. I've had computer problems at home. Check that. I've had computer table problems at home. The old one fell apart and I got frustrated putting together the new one the other day. I just haven't had the time or help this week to devote to putting it together!

I was trying to figure out what would be the next story from my trip would be. There are just so many! I wanted to tell you about two dinners we had in Bishkek. The first one was at the home of the parents of a student, Azima, who is actually living in Alexandria for a year. We met Azima at church and she had told her parents that a group of us were coming to her country and they invited us to dinner. Luckily, Azima's older sister was there to translate for us. Her parents are both university professors and her dad is also a former K-stan parliament member. So these people were high-class. They said they were being modest in things but I have never seen such a spread. Food literally covered the entire table. They basically treated us like royalty! Course after course kept coming. I couldn't identify most of what I was eating but it could have been sheep, potatoes, or horse meat. I have seriously never felt that stuffed, especially from identifiable foods! At the end of the evening, they gave us gifts- they gave Don a hand-embroidered robe and a colpok (the Kyrgyz hat) and they gave Audrey and Kim beautiful white scarves and then for the single ones of us, they gave us colorful scarves. Then they gave everyone slippers and handmade pillow cases! It was unbelievable! It cut my souvenir shopping in half!!

The next night we had a "cultural" dinner in a Kyrgyz home. I thought we had learned plenty the night before but this meal was rather different. It was on the floor on small cushions with no table. Apparently some people don't use utensils but they were kind enough to let us use a fork or spoon. They put bread all over the "table" (which is actually the floor) and we learned that if you shouldn't lay your bread on the table upside down. We learned all kinds of other cultural ways they serve and eat. Also we learned the correct way to sit on the floor which let me tell you, it gets painful after about an hour. My legs were both asleep, and not only asleep but with the pins and needles in my legs. Apparently the Kyrgyz are trained to sit on the floor for long periods of time because they didn't have any issues. Anyway, the food was pretty good- lamb/rice pilaf- which is apparently a staple in Kyrgyz cuisine.

The other thing I learned through these dinners is how to survive without drinking caffeine. I haven't had caffeine since a dare to give it up back in college (November 5, 1995 to be exact!) and I was doing my best to continue the streak. They said that the hosts would continue to fill your cup until you've had four cups of tea. So I found out that I could just ask for hot water and then I stirred in some of the jam that was on the "table". The jam had of course been sitting out for days and days but I figured if I was going to get sick, then I would just deal with it. Anyway, that proved invaluable during our time in the village. So I'm happy to report that my caffeine-free streak continues!

Dolly the sheep

The jet lag hasn't hit me yet so I think I'm going to be just fine! I've spent the morning organizing some pictures on my computer and cheering on my Hokies to victory. Granted it was against Duke but I haven't been able to cheer for them in the last two weeks and I've missed them! You'll notice to the left there is a link to my pictures. I haven't gotten all the pics from the other folks on the trip but this is a start. I have to warn you. Some of the pictures are rather grotesque. I won't post the grossest within the blog just to make sure I don't offend anyone. Just think, I was actually there and survived it. Yes, me who gets queasy over the smallest thing!!

I wanted to share with you part of my experience from the village. It was something that I will absolutely never forget. On the second day we were there, the village people (not the YMCA song folks) all gathered for a beshparmak which is a big feast they have for special occasions. These people have next to nothing compared to us and they are for the most part very happy people. They opened their homes/village to us and treated us like royalty. But this is the part that I will never forget. They brought a sheep out and slaughtered it right in front of us. I had never seen anything like it. It was difficult to watch but I couldn't keep my eyes off it. It was actually a spiritual moving event. The sheep didn't really fight being sacrificed. The worst part for me was when they were skinning it and preparing it for cooking. My friend Don had to help take out the organs and then my friend Audrey and I helped prepare the intestines. Yes, that's right. I had to touch and clean sheep intestines. It's probably one of the grossest things I have ever done. Actually the women had done the first few rounds of cleaning them so by the time we got them, they were fairly clean. But still- I was basically doing a colon cleansing of a sheep! The thought just grosses me out but I figured that I would take in as much of the experience as I could because I really don't think I'll ever be in that situation again! When it came time for the feast, Don had to eat the sheep's eye because he was the oldest person in our group. I had to eat the sheep's ear (and trust me, it does NOT taste like chicken!). Then they handed me a large portion of the sheep's rear-end for me to eat. (I'm not really sure of the cultural significance of that but I'm sure that we can all figure that out!) Oh and the "soup" we had to eat was basically sheep grease/juice. Man, that could possibly be the most disgusting meal I've ever had to eat but we did so as graciously as possible. To see these people giving us their best and going out of their way to welcome us, it just made sense to pretend like we were enjoying eating Dolly the sheep! I can totally cross that off my list of things to do in life!

Start digging!

I was always told that if I started digging a hole that I would eventually end up in China. But according to my globe, I'd actually end up in Kyrgyzstan. So instead of digging, I just flew over there! I was in Central Asia for two weeks and got home last night. I don't think words can describe what an awesome trip and incredible experience I've had over the past two weeks. I'm now home and trying to adjust my body clock back to EST! We were on a plane for over 24 hours yesterday and I was so happy to get off that plane! I'm also happy to be back because you can flush the toilet paper in America! And you can brush your teeth with tap water! And even better, I have internet access and my blackberry works again! (I know, I know... I actually went two weeks without e-mail!!! I broke down and went to an internet cafe one time but it was all in Russian so it was slightly frustrating!)

I'm really struggling with coming up with appropriate descriptions of my awesome time there! I think I could blog about it for years and years to come! But I won't try to fit it all in one blog-- you'd be reading for days and days! Let me stop for a second- basically you can break the trip into two parts: the first week we went to Issyk-Kul which is the big lake there. We spent time on a retreat/vacation with American friends who live throughout K-stan. Then the second week, we spent in Bishkek and for a couple of days in there, we stayed in a village for a couple of days. All in all, we got a full view of Kyrgyz life.

Without a doubt the most unique experience was being in the village! I have to say that the idea of staying in a village was a little disconcerting but it wasn't as bad as I thought and the whole experience stretched me. I kind of went into that part of the trip with the attitude that I was probably never going to be in this environment again and just to go with the flow! Speaking of flow- they didn't have a bathroom at the house we stayed at so we used the most disgusting-ever outhouse for two days! An it wasn't really what I thought of as an outhouse. It was a shed over a hole in the ground! But I survived only due to Charmin-to-go! (WARNING! There is a somewhat disgusting picture coming up!)




Anyway, onto lovelier topics... I had never really been in a situation where I couldn't communicate with words. I saw how important non-verbal skills are! There were two translators which made things a little bit easier. The head guy of the village brought over his donkey and asked me to ride it. So I did. I thought he was just not going to go anywhere because he's a donkey. But no, he was kind of galloping. And I was riding this donkey bareback. I really thought I was going to fall off and break a bone! Instead, I was just screaming the whole time and when I looked over, all of the village people were laughing hysterically. They said they hadn't laughed that hard in a really really long time. I'm glad I could do my part to bring some enjoyment to their lives!

Anyway, from time to time in the next couple of weeks, I'll share some more stories and I'll post some pictures from my trip. For now, I'm happy to be home and in my own bed. Today I plan on trying to go through the nearly 2000 e-mails I got while I was gone! Oh and I'll probably take a short nap! I'm trying not to have any jet lag and so far, I think I'll be just fine! It probably won't hit me for another few days!

Start spreadin' the news...

OK I don't have any real news but I had to tell you about my day yesterday. After waking up from a most wonderful night's sleep in my four-room Queen Esther suite at the Waldorf Astoria, I had a somewhat busy day. It started out by going to a meeting with the Pres and President Karzai of Afghanistan. The two had met for about an hour and my job was to take notes on what they said when they talked to the press and send it out to people at all five networks. Yesterday, my blackberry wasn't working properly and it felt like part of my arm had been removed!! But it ended up working out okay. We were only in the room for about five minutes and I actually had to take a lot of notes so I didn't get to take a picture of the moment. Anyway, after that meeting, we were escorted to another room to wait for the next event and then we were escorted to a hallway to again wait. We hurried up and waited quite a bit yesterday and in the process I can say that I've seen the bowels of the Waldorf=Astoria! We were taking the freight elevators, going down back staircases and at one point, I was literally running through the kitchen with my suitcase, making sure I didn't miss the motorcade! It's actually amazing at all the logistics/security things it takes to move the president from one room to another.

After leaving the Waldorf, we motorcaded through NY to go to a fundraiser at an apartment overlooking Central Park. I'm sure it wasn't just any NY apartment! But we didn't go in. Instead, we went to a nearby restaurant and had lunch for an hour! Then we went back to the apartment building to pick the Pres up. The coolest part of my day yesterday was when we were leaving NYC, we took a helicopter from Wall Street to JFK. That is definitely by far the best way to get around town!! It took no time at all and the sights were beautiful! The photos didn't come out on my camera because I was on the wrong side of the chopper but it was very very cool nonetheless!

If I could replicate my accommodations from my trip- the suite and the helicopter- I might just consider living in New York City! Somehow, I don't think that's a real possibility so I think I'll remain content living in the DC area!

Movin' On Up!!

I've enjoyed the past two days in New York- it's been a good trip and there's only one more day to go! We're here because of the United Nations General Assembly, although I personally didn't make it over to the UN this year. I had my co-worker go since I went a couple of years ago. It's such a surreal scene- leaders of 180 nations all in their native clothing, all in the same room. It's just like the movies! Especially those crazy earphones/translation headset things!! I wanted Shawna to get to experience it! So I hung out at the NY bureau with my correspondent- Suzanne. We had an extremely busy day which made the long hours and no sleep doable. That and the NY bureau is so nice to work from. Our liveshot location was overlooking Central Park on the balcony on the 9th floor. And the food options at the bureau are amazing!! We have nothing like that in DC. We don't even have a window in the basement of the White House!

Ok but for sure the highlight so far this trip would be my hotel room tonight. Last night I stayed at the W on Lexington Ave. which was really nice. Small but nice. But tonight, I had to switch hotels so I could stay at the same hotel as the pres since I am in travel pool tomorrow. I'm movin' on up!! The hotel happens to be the Waldorf Astoria! And I happen to be in a suite on the 20th floor! My colleagues just have plain rooms but my room is amazing!! It's actually several rooms! You know it must be nice when the suite has a name- mine is the Queen Esther Suite! Who knows how many famous people have stayed here since 1929 when this building was built. I learned a few tidbits about the hotel like this is where Diana Ross and Frank Sinatra got their start. It was also the first hotel to ever off room service!! And it was the largest hotel in the world when it was built! I love staying in a piece of history!! Maybe someone famous is in the room next door!!

Weekend with the Parents

So last week was fairly dull so I didn't have anything to update. I did work on a piece on Wednesday that was a little bit out of the ordinary and sort of fun to edit. But other than that, I was in the bureau, not at the White House, and let's face it- there's not that much exciting happening there.

But my parents came up for a long weekend which was a lot of fun! My parents have visited me a hundred times so finding new and interesting things to do can be somewhat of a challenge. But we filled the weekend with fun times. We went to Mount Vernon (I've really gotten my money's worth for my season pass!) and toured the mansion and saw the Godspeed, which was visiting from Jamestown. Then we went to the Washington Monument which we hadn't done as a family since approximately 1986. I guess I've done quite a bunch of tourists activities in recent months because I actually remember the stuff they make up and tell you. Saturday night, we went to Vienna to hear my friend Mark's brass ensemble, Dominion Brass. Mark is a tuba player in the Marine Corps Band and a bunch of the members of the ensemble were also military musicians. It was such an awesome concert!! They ended the concert with a symphony that a 32-year-old wrote and it was incredible. I guess I have a lot of work to do to match such an accomplishment by that age!! Time is ticking away!!

Then Saturday my dad and I went to the final Nationals game at RFK. I couldn't believe how many people were there!! It was a beautiful day for a ball game and it was even better that the Nats actually won! Plus, our seats were in the shade so it worked out perfectly!

The time with my parents was wonderful! I wish it could have lasted longer but I had to come to the Big Apple with the pres for a few days!! I'll be sure to write more about that later!!

Highlights of a long week!

Sorry it's been several days since I've updated my blog. I don't really have a good reason except that I've actually had to work for five days in a row and they have all been extremely busy days! I wanted to pass along some of the highlights of this week, some happier than others, in somewhat chronological order.

1) GETTING TO SPEND TIME WITH LYRA!!
I spent last weekend with Lyra and her mom and dad, Catherine and Jason. Catherine and I have been great friends for 16 years. I had been meaning to get down to Raleigh to visit a long time ago but my schedule, travel, etc. prevented me from doing so. My goal was to make it down there before Lyra turned one and I achieved my goal with several weeks to spare! We had a great time playing and hanging out even if Lyra was slightly under the weather! Lyra is absolutely adorable and I think I'm officially on her friends list. She now knows how to give me five!! Right back at ya, Lyra!

2) SUCCESSFUL BABYSITTING GIG
I watched Ella the other afternoon for a couple of hours. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous but it was good! It's not hard when she is such a precious beautiful baby! I fed her a bottle and then we sat around and played. She was all smiles and coos for almost the entire time. Of course about ten minutes before Katie got home, it became necessary to change her diaper. I don't normally have a problem changing diapers but I was just ever so slightly concerned I wouldn't do it right. And apparently I didn't because she screamed when I had snapped the cloth diaper into place. Luckily Katie came a few minutes later and did it. For the record, Katie did exactly what I had done and Ella still cried a lot so I didn't feel so bad. And Ella smiled at me so I think that was her way of apologizing for screaming. I'm back on her friends list now.

3) REMEMBERING AN ANNIVERSARY
This one was not so happy but it was a good experience. I was travel pool on Tuesday, the anniversary of 9/11 so I spent the morning with the President in church and then on the South Lawn remembering that day six years ago. While I was not personally at the WH or with the Pres six years ago, several of the people I was with have much different memories. Since my network was pool, that meant for a lot of extra logistics to deal with for the coverage for all the networks. I went to the church service at St. John's across the street from the WH and it was pretty moving. Then on the lawn of the WH, the Bushes and Cheneys walked out and bowed their heads for a moment of silence. I did have a chance to stop and reflect for a couple of seconds. I was standing at the exact location that had been a target six years earlier and it kind of gave me chills. I also thought about all those feelings that we all had in 2001. I remembered trying to get to work when the plane hit the Pentagon and then feeling the vibrations of the wall of the Pentagon collapse a little later. I remembered all the emotions of watching the coverage for 24 hours a day at work and being completely sleep deprived. I remembered the patriotic feeling that came across America in the days that followed and on Tuesday, I had that same patriotic feeling standing on the South Lawn.

4) WORKING A LONG DAY
On Thursday, I had to work until about 11pm. POTUS was giving a speech and I had to work the late shift. It was such a busy day planning liveshots, helping my correspondent with scripts, etc. so at least the time went by quickly. Even though he was about 50 yards away from me, I never saw the President and watched it on TV just like the rest of America.

5) BAD HAIR DAY
I knew when I woke up this morning that it was going to be a bad hair day. I looked at POTUS's sked and saw that there were three Marine One departures and arrivals (two of which I had to go to.) So I knew there was no point in actually trying to have a good hair day because it's all down the tubes once the blades of the helicopter start spinning. Everything on the ground is picked up and thrown directly at you due to the force of the wind. I've been to quite a few departures/arrivals so I now can critique the pilots' performance. Today's pilot was not the best because he came in at a different angle and hovered for a lot longer than normal. Both times I was there. I give him a 4 out of 10 on the first one and maybe a 5 on the second one. Maybe the Marines will give me a try! I think I can do it!

Becky get your gun!!

I just returned from a fabulous trip to Brookhaven, MS to see the Doremi (other folks might refer to them as the Doremuses but I have called them the Doremi for years and years.) I have known them for 18 years! Jeff was one of the ministers at my church in Roanoke and Terry was a youth choir leader. And I used to babysit Katie and Kelly when they were really little. The girls are now 22 and almost 25 which makes me feel incredibly old!! I hadn't seen them in three or four years so I enjoyed my time with all four Doremi tremendously! I loved their town they live in- Brookhaven. Jeff grew up there and Terry's family all lives there now and it's the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else and a lot of them are related! Everywhere we went, we ran into people they knew! And the shops in Brookhaven are just so cute! I think I bought too much! Each stop included a 20 minute visit with the owner!

Two of the highlights of my time with the Doremi were experiences I have never had anywhere else. The first was that I was the guest speaker at this week's Kiwanis Club. Terry and I got a "Sound Off" for being visitors. I kept looking around for Fred Flintstone and Barry Rubble and their moose hats! I talked a few minutes about my job and took some questions. I guess it went okay but you'll have to ask other people in the room. Jeff said that it was good and that it took him to the uppermost parts of the Kiwanis popularity stratosphere but that could be a slight overstatement! At least I didn't ruin the Doremus family name in Brookhaven!

The other highlight was going to their cabin in real rural Mississippi! It was so pretty out there and the cabin was really nice. But the real high moment was when Jeff put a gun in my hand to shoot at a bucket that was the target he set up. It was a Colt 45 (and something about a special issued one at that) and I have never had that much power in my hand at one time. When I shot it the first time, I was sure that as I jumped back (the natural reaction), I had shot myself in the foot but apparently I actually hit the target!! It may not have been a bullseye but I did hit the bucket and I didn't injure myself or anyone else so I count it as a success! I actually hit the bucket a couple of times! Since everyone else who had killed a deer had it mounted in the cabin, I suggested mounting the bucket but no one took me up on that offer!! I think after a few days, my hand has finally stopped shaking from all the adrenaline from having something that powerful in my hands! Watch out FBI!!




I have to give a major shout-out to the Doremi for being such cool people. I'm so thankful we've stayed in touch through the years and that our paths crossed so many years ago in Roanoke. They are extremely important to me- I rank their family right up there behind my immediate family as one of the most special to me. I have always held Jeff and Terry's opinions/example/advice very close and now it's a really cool thing to be friends with Katie and Kelly! Not only that, they are just fun, cool people. Heck, Katie hooked me up with a Facebook account which I am ready to master! :)

Oh and my two new favorite words which I'm stealing from them are "Heller" (when you answer the phone) and "Praisealleuia"!

I can't wait for my next visit down there! I promise it won't be another four years!

*****UPDATE: I do realize his name is BARNEY, not Barry. Barry could have also been a member of the club though... maybe he was in one of the lost episodes of the Flintstones!

Noooo I'm not in Baghdad!

Several of you have e-mailed me today asking if I was in Baghdad with the President and I wanted to assure you that I'm not in a war zone. I'm on vacation since I didn't have to go to Australia. Even my colleagues who are on this trip didn't go. They're still on the their way to Sydney, Australia and didn't know until late this morning that he wasn't right behind them. So the way it works is that the travel pool (today is NBC's day) went with him on Air Force One and they will shoot everything and share it with all the networks like any other travel pool day. Many in the press corps just don't like it when there are surprises like this but what can you do? It happens. He's the POTUS and I do understand the security concerns.

In other news, I'm in Brookhaven, MS visiting the Doremus family that I've known for the past 18 years. I will blog more about my trip later but one of the highlights is that I shot a Colt 45 pistol today!!! Don't worry! There are pictures and you'll get to see them in a matter of a few days!

Back home!

So I'm back in my own house and bed again after being gone for two weeks! I had a wonderful time visiting friends for my last few days in Texas! It was great to see my friend Bridget and her brand new baby, Tripp in Austin. And then I headed to Houston to see the Snow family (not Tony but Tommy) who just moved there from Alexandria in July. It was so fun to see them and see their new house and to help them do a little unpacking! Emily and Stephen taught me to speed stack cups. Who knew speed stacking is considered a sport and there is a world association (WSSA)! I was able to stack the cups in "the cycle" (please don't ask me what that means because I'm not really sure) in 31.o8 seconds. The world record is 7 seconds so I have some work to do if I'm going to get in the record books.

You'll be happy to know that I did survive flying home commercially. It was actually a very pleasant experience up until the point when we landed in the middle of a really bad thunderstorm. It's a bit creepy to see lightning striking right beside your plane landing but the pilot did a good job. However, they couldn't take our bags off the plane until the storm passed so I sat and played Brickbreaker on my blackberry for an hour and finally made it home about 1a.

But now I'm home and back to sleeping in my own bed which I am happy about. And I'm happy about getting back into the swing of things! I really enjoyed being at church yesterday and getting to see a bunch of folks. Also, one highlight of yesterday was that I finished my year-long commitment to keeping the four year olds in Sunday School. Those kids were cute but being in a small room with an average of 18 four-year-olds (with approximately 14 boys in the group) kind of wore me down. Ok that is a lie. It definitely wore me down! But nothing a weekly Sunday nap couldn't fix. So I've decided to help with two-year-olds starting in September and only on an every-other-week-basis!!

Now I actually have to work for five days in a row!! But not to fear! I do have all of next week off to recover! The Pres goes to Australia and since I don't have to go, I get the week off!

AF1: the plane, not the Harrison Ford movie

I'm back in Texas after a quick overnight stop in Kansas City (MO not KS) for the VFW convention. By the way, I lowered the average age by about 20 years when I was in the room. But anyway, today I was in travel pool which means I had to spend last night at the same hotel as the President and then spent all day in the motorcade, sat very close for the speech, and rode back to Texas on Air Force One. It wasn't my first trip ever but the first one since I've been blogging so I thought I would mention it and share photos.

I know I'm going to sound like a total snob when I say this, so please forgive me in advance!! Today was the perfect length of flight- not too short so it's over before you know it and not too long that the trip never ends (like the time I was on there for 12 hours on the way back from Jordan. The problem is that you don't get to really walk around. The press stays in a cabin with twelve seats and a bathroom.) But I will say it is better than flying commercially! (Please refer to my previous post for my thoughts on that!) We were served barbeque brisket for lunch on the plane (the second meal of brisket of the day!) which I tried but the highlight of the meal was the chocolate chip brownie. I don't want to disappoint or offend anyone but the food on AF1 is not always that great. Sometimes it is, sometimes not but for some reason I guess it tastes better when you are eating off a plate and drinking out of a glass that says "Aboard the Presidential Aircraft" on it. I do have to say that after ten days in Texas, I am done with brisket and Mexican food (although I will be in Texas for three more days so I should keep an open mind!)

Anyway, I am ready for a break. Tomorrow I leave Crawford/Waco and spend a few days visiting with friends in Austin and Houston. I have had a great trip for work- nothing really has gone wrong and it hasn't been that bad. I am looking forward to a break from work (I've only had one day off work since August 4th!) and getting to see my friends. I've been around the same wonderful group of people for more than ten days and even though they are really great people and I like most of them a lot, a change of scenery will not be a bad thing! :) Anyway, it has been a great work trip and it was a perfect day to end this part of my travels on!!

The Three Amigos Summit

The Three Amigos of North America have been meeting together in Canada for the past two days (thus the reason I am visiting our neighbor to the north) and today was the press conference for the trio (Bush, Harper, and Calderon) . I was the representative for my network there (only because we knew he wouldn't be calling on me!) and I found myself about six feet from three world leaders and directly in the line of sight between our President and his chief of staff. That's right, I was on the second row and two rows in front of Josh Bolten, Karl Rove, Ed Gillespie, two cabinet secretaries, and two ambassadors. It was such an interesting experience. The President kept giggling whenever the Spanish translation was in his ear. He winked at us once and just was extremely animated when it wasn't his turn to talk. My headset with the English translation in it wasn't working- I guess the battery was dead. But I just kept putting them on and taking them off. I figured if I didn't wear them, I either looked too stupid to figure the headset out or too smart and was able to understand English, French, and Spanish. Obviously the second isn't true and I promise you the battery was dead. :) So while I couldn't understand 99% of what was being said, I just kept my eyes on the President and just pretended like I was understanding. Maybe he didn't understand either. We made eye contact a few times and then I just watched him make faces to the people around me. I'm pretty sure very little news was committed and probably the most interesting part was when they were discussing the differences between jelly beans in Canada versus the US. Who knew there are different world standards of jelly beans!!! I'm sure the leaders discussed other more important issues but this is the only time I've ever heard them discuss this! Too bad they didn't do that signature move from the movie Three Amigos. That would have been awesome!

OOOOO Canada!

Greetings from Gatineau, Canada! It's quite lovely, eh? When we landed this morning and they said we were in Canada, I just had to take them for their word because it could have been anywhere. Maybe Iowa or South Carolina. But as we drove to our hotel/workspace, we passed through the city of Ottawa and it was fairly pretty, with some character. Of course we are staying out in the burbs at a hotel/casino (not necessarily a potentially good combination for some of my colleagues) so basically most of what I will see of Canada is the ballroom of the Hilton. The grounds here are lovely with a really pretty lake and lots of greenery.

I have to remind myself that I'm in another country. Proof #1 that this fact is true is that my cell phone doesn't work up here. Proof #2 is that they speak French. You would think that after taking French for 5 1/2 years in high school and college that I could remember something. But all I could come up with today was the word for potato and for bathing suit. It would have really been helpful to know some French this afternoon while I was checking into my hotel room. I'm pretty sure the concierge was talking about me but I just couldn't quite grasp what he was saying.

I've been to Quebec before- on a field trip in the 9th grade. One of my memories from that trip is that my French teacher made us order a meal in French. So after 20 minutes, I came up with "Je voudrais un hamburger," which I believe means "I would like a hamburger." To which the guy yelled to someone in the kitchen "The kid wants a hamburger." I gave up on my French speaking right then and there.

In truth, several vocabulary words are coming back to me. Not that I could put together a sentence if I tried but the fact that I've actually recognized real French words makes me think that Madame Hosp and Madame Williams would be very proud of me!

Being a Cow-girl!

I've completed week number one on the road! Tomorrow we head for Canada for a couple of days and a stop in Kansas City before we get back to Texas. At that point, I'm done with travel for work and I have a few days off that I'll spend in the Lone Star State visiting with friends before I head home.

Last night, I got a head start on the visiting friends thing. I drove up to Fort Worth to see my friend Christine from high school and her husband, Jamie. We had a little dinner party with her friends Ginger and Rich at this really cool restaurant in downtown Fort Worth called Mi Cocina. I can honestly say that I will never forget the day I met her friend Ginger. She had a bag of party favors for our dinner which I have to admit, was a first. We each got a pair of kid's scissors and a glue stick and a paper with a Ben and Jerry's cut-out action cow. Don't ask!! I will say it was a bit random but of course I went along with it and we all sat at this nice restaurant cutting paper cows out. For some reason, maybe it's because I was in Texas and have eaten half a cow every day, but it almost began to make sense. I can honestly say I've never done that before but I laughed harder than I had in a long time!! It was sooooo fun to see Christine and Jamie again and hang out. Ginger and Rich definitely get two thumbs up from me in the fun category! I'm glad I have two new friends in Fort Worth! Check out Ginger's blog for more pictures!!! She definitely wins for providing the most random activity! I guess that is her teacher mindset coming out as she and Christine prepare for school to start next week!

I just have to say that one of the coolest things I realized last night is that I apparently have had great taste in picking out friends over the years. I met Christine when she moved in the 7th grade and I honestly think I would be friends with her if I met her last week!! And she's not the only one like that! She's consistently been a cool person (even when no one was cool in junior high) and just a lot of fun to be around. I find myself laughing so hard it hurts when I am around her! And I really liked downtown Fort Worth. So hopefully the next time I'm stuck in Crawford/Waco for extended periods of time, I will be able to visit her and Jamie again!!

Another fun day in Crawford!

Yes, it's still hot in Texas. Maybe not 110 degrees but it's still rather toasty. Yesterday, I had the honor (or misfortune depending on how you look at it) of being in travel pool for a quick trip with the Pres to a ranch down the road from his for a fundraiser. I actually never saw the Pres except through the window of his Suburban but at least it was a change of scenery from hanging out at Crawford Middle School. We were at a ranch named Broken Spoke and it is owned by some really rich Texans (I'm assuming). These people love to hunt because the place where we waited for the Pres was this garage with a very large moose, three bears, approximately 20 deer and some other random animals. It also had a shuffleboard table so we played a game underneath an enormous moose staring at me. It was kind of like the Mona Lisa, wherever you went, he was looking at me. I wasn't really good at shuffleboard but I finally got four points! Inside the garage, it was pretty hot but I managed to find a fan to stand under for a minute. This garage was like none other I've seen- mainly because there was a 50 inch flatscreen in it along with a lot of dead animals. We got to eat some really good Texas barbecue. Our menu wasn't as extensive as the fundraiser's but I gained three pounds by just reading the menu for the party!

Hot Days in August

I've been on the road with the Pres since Monday in Crawford, TX. You'll remember my blogs from early on about my thoughts on Crawford and Texas. While they haven't changed all that much, I think I have a new appreciation for Texas in the summer. The locals tell us it finally got hot here on Monday, which coincided with our arrival. For the first three days, it was 105-115 degrees. Even if they tried to make me feel better by using the rationale that it's a 'dry heat', it's still extremely hot- to the point that when you walk outside, it takes your breath away. Lucky for me, I've been coping by eating plenty of free Blue Bell ice cream. The other way we coped on Wednesday is something that was a little bit out of character for me. Brianna (my correspondent for the first part of the trip) and Liz, my fellow producer and I went swimming in the local swimming hole in Crawford!! I definitely prefer a swimming pool with treated water to a random flooded creek but desperate times called for desperate measures. That and Liz and Brianna really wanted to go. So we jumped in the creek at this place about a mile from Crawford Middle School and had the best time! It's been a while since I've tread water for about 30 minutes but I preferred that to jumping off the cliffs into an unknown depth of water. Liz and Brianna were much braver than I was but I felt like someone needed to ensure that at least one of us left there without a broken neck!

The rest of my long week in Crawford has been filled with eating (waaay too much) as usual but last night we also went to sing karaoke in a honky tonk Texas bar (Brianna was a total rockstar). Today at work, we had free massages (sooooo nice), acupuncture (I didn't partake), and Dr. Pepper ice cream floats (including a visit by Little Miss Dr. Pepper). Oh and we actually did a bunch of work today too! I've only got four more days in Crawford until we head to Canada for a couple of days!

PS- I wasn't on TV today but my shirt was. Suzanne, another correspondent I work with, came into town late last night but her luggage got lost. So I gave her the shirt off my back (except that I wasn't wearing it at the time) and it's really good that we wear the same size. So my shirt has spent the afternoon on TV. Suzanne loved the shirt so I'm not sure if I'll ever get it back.

Watching a miracle

Last night, I was invited over to Joe and Katie's to observe a wound dressing change for Baby Ella. First let me say that I was truly honored that they would ask me if I wanted to participate. The whole process was just so interesting. I couldn't figure out how it could take over an hour to change bandages for someone so small but it was quite intense. I had to mentally prepare myself because as those who know me will attest, I don't really have an iron stomach when it comes to things like this. )Once, I passed out at the eye doctor just thinking about my eyes getting dilated for heaven's sake.) But I made myself be okay with whatever I was going to see. I figured if a seven week old can endure it (and she's the one who is actually getting the bandages changed), then so could I. Joe and Katie showed me a picture of her legs on the days she was born and she basically had no skin on her leg and foot. So I was prepared for the worst. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought! She gets new blisters on a daily basis but it is truly amazing how much skin has grown on her legs. I told Ella that she was the best skin grower I had ever seen! Joe and Katie do such an awesome job as her parents and taking care of her and they have the process down to a science. They have quickly become experts in her care and use all kinds of medical jargon during the process. I was able to ask a ton of questions and I learned so much.


When I was walking home last night, I just kept thinking about what a miracle this baby truly is. God truly has answered a ton of prayers. She's gone from maybe not making it through the night on the day she was born to being home, eating and sleeping like any other baby. To see how much skin has grown in just six weeks is absolutely amazing. And I deeply believe that she's going to get better and better and that God is going to heal this precious baby. I feel like we're all right in the middle watching God perform a miracle in Ella's life!!

I'm letting you down

I know it's been over a week since I've posted anything and that's because there just hasn't been much excitement. It's August in DC for Pete's sake. I haven't been on any fun trips with the pres and I've actually only seen him a couple of times in the last week. I was in the Rose Garden with him for an event but it was not all that exciting and there was nothing to pass along except that it was extremely hot. He talked about taxes and fiscal spending which is not all that interesting to most folks. Other than that, he's been at Camp David and Thursday he leaves for Kennebunkport. I pick up with him on Monday and am on the road for about two weeks. Woo hoo! I'm headed to Crawford for a week and then to Canada and then to MN and MO and then back to TX.

In non-work news, Joe and Katie and Baby Ella are all doing fine! I think I might be addicted to holding her! When I've been over there, I just don't want to put her down! She's still getting new blisters every day but Joe and Katie are taking great care of her and she seems to be in pretty good shape. And most importantly she's a beautiful baby!!

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!!

I just finished a weekend of entertaining my sister and niece and it was absolutely fun! I do give all you parents out there a big round of applause because after almost four days, I'm exhausted! How do you do this all the time?? :) Cayton is such a great kid and really low matainence but there's just something about following a three and a half year old around that made me tired! I took more naps than she did! But we had a lot of fun. The highlight of the weekend was a visit with Cinderella in Arlington. Cayton is obsessed with Cinderella and all the Disney princesses and she just returned from a trip to Disney World where she had breakfast with Cinderella and met all the other characters. So I was a bit nervous how this Cinderella would match up to the one at Disney. I had found this event when I was doing research to find activities for us to do while she was here and I totally lucked out that Cinderella was going to be at Tree Top Kids, a toy store/book store in Arlington. I really didn't know what to expect but I was just sooooo relieved when Cinderella walked in and she was the correct ethnicity and had no visible tattoos. Cayton didn't quite understand why she couldn't see the magic coach parked in the parking lot or how a princess could possibly be running late. But she loved the whole thing and got to dance with her and gave her a hug and wouldn't let her go! Actually, this professional princess was really good and she could sing very well too. Now I'm wondering what a professional princess does to make a living in Northern Virginia. I think that's what Cayton wants to be when she grows up!

Baby Ella is home!!

This is absolutely HUGE news since 34 days ago, the doctors didn't think she'd make it through the night! She came home from the hospital this evening and I have already fallen in love! She's absolutely beautiful! She was diagnosed with EB, a rare skin disease, at birth but it turns out that she may have an extremely rare kind where she could potentially grow out of it! That's a huge praise! But I was just so happy to get to meet her in person! We bonded tonight while I was able to give her a bottle! I don't want to sound corny but it truly was a precious moment that I will savor for a long time. Joe and Katie are truly amazing people and parents! Visit their blog to post a comment of congratulations!