Random Thoughts by Becky

Welcome to Day #99 of the new POTUS administration. I thought I would be pretty busy but I have totally lucked out. My correspondent is working out of New York for a couple of days which means I'm all alone in the WH basement, able to catch up on all kinds of things in life- i.e. reading e-mails, checking Facebook, updating blog- all the really important things in life.

So I thought I would share some of my random thoughts of the past couple of days. I will warn you now that I do not intend for this blogpost to actually flow. It's going to be truly random.

*As you know, I worked on Saturday and one of the highlights not mentioned in a previous post was that I got to watch nature at its finest. There is a robin's nest in the bush right outside the WH briefing room and for the past few days we had been watching Mama Robin warming the eggs but on Saturday, the eggs hatched and all of a sudden there were 4 tiny weird looking baby birds. And Mama Robin goes off and finds worms and feeds the babies. All right next to the Briefing Room door which opens approximately 52 times an hour. I would have taken a picture but with my crappy camera, it wasn't working quite right and I was literally getting stared down by Mama. But my friends at the Associated Press have a great article about them- pictures included!

*Yesterday I had the day off and it was such a productive day! I love making a to-do list and then having such a sense of accomplishment when I get through everything and it's only 2:00p. The highlight of yesterday was that I gave myself the best gift ever possible. I have two words for you. Maid Service. Seriously people, I have never treated myself to anything this wonderful in my life. My house is not all that big, I understand that, and there is really no good reason why I couldn't do it myself but Ana and her posse did a far superior job than I have ever done and in such a short amount of time!! I swear the bathtub hasn't been this clean since 1954, when it was put in the house. I'm undecided on how often Ana and her posse will come but they will be back because it's just the best thing to walk into a completely clean house (they even scrubbed my baseboards) that just smells sooooo good! And on top of that, I took my car in yesterday for its regular service and they washed and detailed my car so it is CLEAN too! Oh man, I feel goooood!!

*I have some really great friends. Yesterday, I ended up having dinner with my friend Sherry and her family. Her boys are sooooo incredibly cute that I just want to eat them up. I hadn't hung out with them in several months and it's always an adventure!! After dinner, we left George with the boys and she and I went to get our nails done. I never get my nails done unless I'm in a wedding (which I haven't been in a wedding in over two years! Yikes! My streak is over!) But I've decided I really like manicures. I'm not sure how something silly like a color on your nails make you feel better but it does. Unfortunately, the shade of pink currently residing on my fingernails is a little brighter than it appeared in the bottle. Let's just say I don't need the light of my blackberry to guide me in the dark. I have my nails now. Ok, that is a bit of an exaggeration. But it is a little brighter than I was hoping. I'm just going to wear a LOT of pink in the next few days. Anyway, I just enjoyed spending time with Sherry and catching up! I'm trying to convince her to name her baby due in August after me. One of these days I'll actually convince SOMEONE to actually do it!!

*Speaking of good friends, yesterday marked the 3 year anniversary of my friend Billy's death. I know I have mentioned him before and what a great guy Billy was but I would be remiss if I didn't mention him again. I can't believe it's been three years. Yesterday, I took time out to remember my friend and thank God that I had the chance to be friends with him. I thought about the impact that he had on soooo many people and how inspirational he was. I also thanked God for the way he's sustained Mary Jane and the boys and for other blessings that sprung from this tragedy. So in the midst of the busy-ness of yesterday getting errands done, I am so glad that I was able to pause and reflect on the life of a dear friend and all that God has done in the past three years!

*I'm up to my eyeballs in swine flu. I don't actually have it but I have a bazillion e-mails referring to it. My network (along with the rest of the media) has gone bonkers with our coverage and since I was put on the "swine flu" e-mail alias at my network, my inbox can barely handle it. Basically when anyone in my network has anything to say about anything swine flu related, they just send it to one address and hundreds, if not thousands, receive it. And apparently a LOT of people have things to add to the whole swine flu coverage. I seriously deleted, without reading, approximately 300 e-mails yesterday on swine flu alone. I think the power of suggestion is also huge because this morning I woke up and blew my nose and instantly was worried that I was sick and contagious. Unfortunately, I quickly realized that was irrational thinking and wasn't going to get me out of work. Boo.

Ok, enough random thoughts by Becky. We now return you to our normal programming! Thanks for reading! :)

Week in Review, Again

I can't believe the week has already come to a close! I have the distinct privilege of working six days this week! Woo Hoo! That means I have Monday off! Double WOO HOO!! This week has flown by, thank the dear Lord! So I'll recap the highlights!!

On Monday and Tuesday, I was filling in for my boss which is always a challenge. First of all, I went to a TON of meetings. Some are more intimidating than others but in each case, I have to pretend that I am the be-all, end-all expert on all things Obama. I try to do that on a daily basis, pretend that is, but when you're in charge more people actually believe what you're saying so you can't make it up. Especially when the president of the network is asking you. Over the course of two days, I answered questions on a range of things from the magazine cover with Obama in his bathing suit to NAFTA negotiations to Bo's favorite food. (That's tomatoes in case you were wondering!) Things went well and I have never been more excited to see my boss as I was on Wednesday when he returned to work!

Wednesday, I was in the bureau with literally nothing exciting to report. I did go out after work with some work buddies to celebrate one friend's impending wedding and we had a great time. We were at a swanky place and I pretended to fit in. I kept seeing protective details all over the place (and none of them were in the Becky Protective Detail). Apparently that place was the scene for a party with a bunch of Senators and House leadership.

Thursday, I spent the day in pool. I wished it was a swimming pool but unfortunately it was just pool duties. I was in the pool for a trip up to Capitol Hill for the Holocaust Days of Remembrance ceremony. I sometimes have to stop myself when I'm in the motorcade (not literally because I'd get run over) to appreciate the fact that people are lining the streets of DC and getting a glimpse of the motorcade will be the highlight of their day. And I'm actually riding in it! The funny part is that I can't tell you how many times I see people taking pictures/video of us and we are a good 8-10 cars back from the Beast! And we're absolute nobodys!

Friday, it was a fairly routine day with not a lot of excitement until approximately 6 minutes before I was scheduled to leave the WH with the next thing on my agenda being a nap. I looked up on my monitor above my desk and saw the uniformed USSS officers running and shooing our guys outside to run inside. We were officially on lockdown. RIGHT BEFORE I"M SUPPOSED TO LEAVE. There was an airspace violation so we couldn't leave the White House. Now I don't know about you, but when they said "there is an incoming airplane, please stay put in the WH basement", etc., it's not exactly the most comforting thing to hear. Luckily, my natural reaction is not to ever panic- I didn't even think about breaking open the emergency life jackets/gas masks/protective clothing that are in the basement. I was more concerned with how long we were going to be stuck in there and how that was going to impact my nap schedule. I didn't sense a ton of panic from everyone else and thankfully the situation was resolved within a matter of moments and my nap only started a few minutes late.

And then there's today in which I'm stuck once again in the WH basement. Not on lockdown but I'm actually a little busy trying to get details on the swine flu. Thank God I don't know about the swine flu from personal experience but I'm learning quite a bit. The highlight of my day has been the most awesome Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookie from Potbelly's. Somehow it made me happy enough to forget about the fact that it's absolutely gorgeous weather- picture perfect day and I'm stuck in a windowless room in the basement!

Emergency Aunt Beck-Beck Help

Last week, I made an unexpected trip to Roanoke to help out when my sister Laura had to go back to the hospital with an infection. That meant that I got to help out with my nieces who are absolutely the cutest kids on the planet. I also got to spend time with my parents who were also in town helping out. I had a great time with the family and I started missing them by the time I left their street. I almost considered moving to Roanoke and just commuting but then realized that would not be a good plan. Anyway, my sister got out of the hospital on Saturday morning which was such a good thing!! So I spent most of my time playing with my nieces and hanging out with the family and the neighbors. They all call me Beck Beck because I guess they've never heard anyone call me Becky before! Anyway, here are a couple of the best pictures!

Also, an extra bonus during my trip home was that I was in the 'Noke at the same time as the Doremi (visiting from MS). So I got to have breakfast with them which was totally awesome! I miss showing up at their doorstep at 10p!!

Easter Eggs and Puppy Dogs

I hope everyone had a great Easter. As you can probably guess, I LOVE Easter. Even though the Easter Bunny didn't stop by my house, I woke up on Sunday with an automatic smile. I look forward to Easter Sunday at my church with a child-like anticipation. It didn't disappoint. Our service was awesome celebrating the risen Lord! It's humbling to know what Jesus went through for me on the cross but to celebrate his resurrection is a truly awesome thing! I also love seeing all the kids in their Easter outfits. My church has a flower cross outside that many families have their picture taken by. I was thankful I didn't have to organize it this year and could just appreciate it! I also thoroughly enjoyed lunch with my friend Mary Jane and her family at "the club". The last time I was there, I saw Willard Scott but this time the most famous person I saw was the Easter Bunny. I ended my afternoon with a stop at the Wingards, one of the precious families in my church that has taken me under their wing over the years. Alydia even gave me an Easter basket which had Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs in it. Life doesn't get better than that!

Then the next day, reality set in. It was time for the White House Easter Egg Roll. As you might recall, last year I took the day off and went as a participant with my sister and niece Cayton. It was a long eggshausting (I couldn't resist the pun) day but one of many happy memories. This year, I had to work and on top of that, I was the travel pool. That meant I was coordinating coverage for all five TV networks. It seems that I've been pool for this event every year (except for last year when my co-worker had to do it.) I have no idea why we are soooo unlucky considering that Easter is never on the same date. But anyway, I think being pool for the Easter Egg Roll is my lot in life. Anyway, let's just say there were not many happy memories this year. It's miserable. I always forget and block out the experience so every year, I forget what it was like the year before. I actually needed a couple of days to decompress before I blogged about it. It's just a zoo and this year it seemed worse. My friends in the Obama administration really tried but it was still a mess. Our coverage plans changed every few minutes and I ended up having to get some help with another producer and crew because logistically I wasn't going to be able to get into the motorcade after the last event.

Once it actually started, the egg roll itself was cute with Sasha and Malia participating. I'm not here to make any political statements but it was just so neat to see POTUS as a goofy father. He was cheering the kids along and helping a tiny kid finish and lots of high-fives etc. After the egg roll, he went to read "Where the Wild Things Are" to a group of kids. His story-telling was quite dramatic He was inside a fence with kids seated quietly in chairs. I was a few feet away on the other side of the fence with MOBS of people. It was like a total mosh pit. Except that everyone around me was between 10-12 who had no idea what personal space means. They were screaming and literally stepping on me. Manners were not really present at all. As I was trying to escape so I could get to the next stop, one lady screamed at me for almost touching her baby. Notice the almost part. The baby was in a stroller with a blanket over his face and a diaper bag on his legs. I didn't even see the baby and oh yeah, I didn't actually touch the baby! I have never been so excited to get out of an area in my life! It was definitely a rough crowd!! Let's just say that I will definitely wait at least 4 years until Raygan is old enough to appreciate it and the Egg Roll has calmed down a bit.

Of course, the only thing to outdo the excitement of the Egg Roll is that the #1 story of the year happened yesterday. Thank God I was not at the WH. I'm not sure why it's such an incredibly popular topic, but the First Pooch made his grand debut yesterday. The scheduling gods knew what they were doing when they didn't put me at the WH at that time. I can honestly care less. As many of you know, I am not a dog-lover, or an animal-lover for that matter. Sure Bo is cute but seriously, we had THREE cameras outside when the First Family (FF from now on) came outside yesterday. I'm just glad it's over!! Now I'm sure that we'll have to be on the lookout for where we step on the South Lawn now!!

Welcome to the World Raygan!

So I've been off of work for most of this week and was actually pretty disconnected from the working world. It was nice. What was even nicer is that it was because I was in the 'Noke visiting with my family and there for the birth of my newest niece, Raygan. I have to say, and maybe I'm completely biased, but she is completely cute! She was born on Wednesday and weighs 6 lbs. 8 oz. and is 18 inches long. She and Laura will be in the hospital until Saturday. Cayton is excited to be a big sister! She's a smaller baby than Cayton was but is equally beautiful! I'll post more pictures a little later but here's just a taste of how cute she is!!