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!!