Presidential Presser

So POTUS and I haven't run into each other much lately. I actually never saw him while he was on the vineyard other than seeing him through the window of his limo. And then I was taking some time off last week, catching up on the things like laundry, errands, etc. This past week I was at the WH from Wednesday on but I only saw POTUS on Wednesday and that was when he was coming home from Cleveland from a day trip.

Then on Friday, that was our first time we really "hung" out this week. POTUS held a press conference, something that doesn't happen every day here. The last one he did was back in May and I was off that day and missed all the fun. Yesterday, though, we were travel pool which meant we had to make sure everything was all set up for all five TV networks. I actually handed travel pool duties off to my colleague Jamie and I stayed on the phone with my network's control room throughout the presser. Oh and I forgot my hands free thingy. I stood towards the back of the room with the phone to my ear for almost two hours (that included the lead-up time to it and then the entire 75 minutes of the presser.) I didn't realize how long that was until at the end when I could barely stand and barely move my arms.

POTUS took questions from about a dozen reporters. And the main thing I remember from the event was that I had never seen 75% of the reporters in the room. I'm at the WH quite a bit and travel with POTUS quite a bit and have been doing this for quite a while. I would think I would at least recognize the majority of "White House reporters". Nope. I have no idea where these people came from. Out of the woodwork? And who were they? I have no idea! Many even seemed to have WH hard passes which "proves" they cover the WH. But I have seriously never laid eyes on them!! I think I recognized more people in the Russian press corps earlier this summer than I did with our own press corps yesterday!

A Unholistic Experience

As I mentioned before, during our time on Martha's Vineyard, we stayed at a holistic house... I won't name it by name but it's not hardlto google! :) And a warning, the website is much scarier than it was in real life. However, it was by far the most unique hotel arrangements we've ever had for work.

We were able to eat solid foods, thank the good Lord. And as I said before, I think we took it to the extremes. We were there for 11 days and I ate some form of lobster 9 of those days. I felt a little bit like Bubba from Forrest Gump talking about the lobster. Lobster bisque. Lobster macaroni and cheese. Lobster rolls. Whole lobster dipped in that hot butter stuff. Lobster pot pie. etc. Seriously it was out of control. Out of control but really good. I think it took me about three days after being home for my body to adjust to not eating lobster!!

Back to the retreat house. I wanted to share with you my favorite parts of my lodging arrangements! I really hope that those really nice folks who run the place don't stumble on my blog and I'll try to be as nice as possible about it but the plain, simple truth is that weird things happen there!!

First of all, one of my favorite parts was the room called "Dr. Doug's Room". I'm not sure exactly what happens in that room but I guarantee you've probably not stayed in a place that had a bone scanning machine and hydrotherapy hookups. Like I said, I really don't know much about how that stuff works and I have no plans on actually figuring it out. But it's just weird.

Also there were straws all around. Lots of straws. And blenders. And crock pots.

Now my room was a suite on the main floor right next to Dr. Doug's. While it was a lovely room and really there weren't that many complaints, I do feel obligated to just point a few things out. The room did smell quite a bit like mildew. Of course it had to do with the recent rain but it didn't help that it was next to Dr. Doug's room. In order to be able to breathe correctly, I had to have the AC on full blast and the ceiling fan on high. The odor only woke me up out of a dead sleep in my Craftmatic bed (which the foot of the bed wouldn't lay flat so I slept with my feet on an incline) once or twice.

In my bathroom, my favorite part was the toilet paper dispenser. I have never seen anything like it. It had a radio on it as well as a panic button and a siren. I'll leave it to your imagination of why that is but remember, this place specializes in liquids and colonics.

And then there was my shower. For those of you who know me, you can testify that I'm not a large person. In fact, I'm the size of some 10 or 12 year olds. And so I don't need a large shower but this shower was the smallest I have ever been in. It was ridiculous and I'm sure this picture won't convey how small it was but let's just say that when I tried to wash my hair, I hit my elbows on the walls of the shower. And when I dropped my soap, I couldn't bend down to get it and had to get out of the shower to pick it up. Seriously.

But all in all, it was definitely a survivable situation and I can cross "Living in a house with six of your co-workers for 11 days" off the list. Also, I have a suggestion for the holistic folks that I saw at the hotel where we worked from. I think it would totally go with their theme!

Greetings from the Vineyard!!

I'm sorry it's taken so long to check in. No, I have not been to busy doing enemas and colon cleansings. I've actually been busy working. Just because POTUS is relaxing and doing nothing, that doesn't mean we are. We're actually working. I have to keep reminding myself and everyone else on the planet that it's HIS vacation, not mine.

I am going to go ahead and apologize if I offend anyone in this post. But I am not a New England-beach person. It's like we are in a foreign country the beach-world to me. I'm used to the over-commercialization, neon-signs, enormous beaches with lots of putt-putt and pancake houses of South Carolina. I admit it- deep down I guess I'm a red-neck. There I said it. And I'm proud of it. While this island is quite quaint, it's just not what I think of when I think of going to the beach. But clearly it's a cool place to be because not only did POTUS and Meg Ryan decide (separately) to be here this week, so did nearly two bazillion other people. Or at least it just feels that way because there are cars EVERYWHERE and no place to park them! But the first few days we were here, the weather was absolutely perfect and the scenery was incredibly picturesque so I realized why many people love this place. And I also realized that this was not going to be a bad gig. Not at all.

We are staying at our "holistic retreat" and working in Vineyard Haven while POTUS is staying on another part of the island. And we haven't seen much of him. He truly is taking it easy and laying low. It also helps that the weather here has been absolutely miserable here the past two days. I can't believe it's the end of August and I'm dressed in layers to stay warm. It's truly a good thing that I overpacked because now I can have many layers!!

On Saturday, it was my network's turn to be travel pool and the weather was really nice so POTUS and the FF (First Family) decided to spend the day at a private beach. That meant we followed him there and his car pealed off down one dirt path and we went to the next dirt path and waited for four hours while the FF frolicked away from the cameras and the press. While we waited, we hung out on an enormous yellow tour bus. If you have to get stuck on a bus for an unknown amount of hours, this is the bus to be stuck on. Believe me, I have spent HOURS and HOURS waiting for POTUS (some of which have been chronicled on this blog) and this by far is the best vehicle we've ever spent quality time in. Nice, big, comfy, leather seats. Power supply. Big TV screens for movies. Good food provided. It was the lap of luxury in the bus/van world. The big yellow bus waited in a field and to break up the monotonous afternoon of waiting on POTUS, some of us decided to play a little wiffleball. Clearly, my childhood games of wiffleball in my front yard where we wore patches of dirt for the bases into our yard (well our yard had much bigger problems than that!) really paid off. All of my 6th-grade all star softball skills came shining through when it was my turn up to bat. The guys said I had a really nice batting stance and swing and even better- the phrase "for a girl" didn't even complete their sentences. Thanks Dad for all your coaching in those formative years!! I realize that K got all the athletic ability but all was not lost on all that instruction!!

Now for the last couple of days, we've been dealing with rain, rain, and more rain. And wind, wind, and more wind. I've never covered a hurricane but the other day I got a really good idea what that would be like. I nearly blew off the roof. The only thing that saved me was that I've eaten like a pig since last Wednesday and all the extra food was weighing me down. I will be more than happy to see the sun return in a couple of days. By the way, the following picture does not even begin to convey how miserable the weather has been. I didn't take more pictures because I couldn't actually see through the viewfinder without getting pelted by rain and wind.

Speaking of food.... we are able to eat solid foods at the retreat and I will post more about the house soon. Truth be told, it was much scarier in the description than in actual practice. I think I was sooo excited about being able to chew that I just took it to the extremes and have done nothing but eat since I heard the good news.

Oh by the way, I thought I'd leave you with a couple of pictures from my friend Jim of the workspace. This is, by far, what I've spent most of my time here on the island. The John Adams room of the Mansion House hotel. It's like home away from home. Except that it's also like being in a fishbowl. Soooo many people peer into the room and look at us working. For some reason, they are fascinated! I now understand how the animals at the zoo feel. Clearly I've been working hard!! :)

Headed to the Vineyard

August is supposed to be a slow month in Washington, but apparently POTUS didn't get the memo. He's been on the road a ton this month. Actually has been gone more than he's been here it seems. I was at the WH on Monday so bid him farewell on the trip for the early part of the week which included stops in Wisconsin, LA, Seattle, Columbus, and Miami. Not exactly places close by to each other but luckily my colleagues had a chartered plane this time.

On Thursday, POTUS heads up to Martha's Vineyard for some family vacation time. I know there's been much discussion on how many trip POTUS has taken on the taxpayer's dime and as you know I'm not here to discuss those issues. I will say that I see both sides to the arguments and I just do what I'm told and follow him where he's going. This time it's for 10 days in MV and I am the lucky one who gets to go for the full trip.

But before you say, "Becky, you have such a glamorous life. Can you take me along in your suitcase? Do you need an assistant?" (all of which I hear every time I tell people I'm going), let me give you a lay of the land.

In fairness, I have only been to MV one time and it was for only a few hours with my family as part of our vacation to Massachusetts. I vaguely remember it and in my head, I still picture it like the show "Wings" that was on NBC in the early 90's. I realize they were on Nantucket but it's all the same! :) I can't wait to find Lowell the mechanic and Roy the ticket counter guy!!

Anyway, I'll be traveling up there a day before POTUS and then staying a day later so my trip will be 12 days. A significant chunk of time. Especially when my co-worker booked us to stay at a "holistic retreat". Frankly, I was unfamiliar with the concept until I googled our "hotel". Let's just say it will be an adventure!! It boasts in specializing in helping people become more balanced, healthier people through detox. And not the detox that many Hollywood types go to in order to get a reduced sentence when facing any charges. Or again, maybe it is. I don't know. According to the website,
"We offer an intimate healing-based detoxification program set in a quiet home-like environment. We are NOT A SPA we are a Health Retreat. Our focus is on detoxification cleansing, weight loss and addressing chronic health issues. Our programs strive to heal the body and spirit of illness and pain through proper nutrition, anti-aging protocols, exercise, oxygen and electromagnetic therapies, phyto-nutrients and detoxification treatments. Our fully-liquid detoxification protocol is based on the program developed by Dr. Roni and detailed in her book 21 Pounds in 21 Days, The Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox™. "

I'm not exactly sure what some of those words mean but when I was looking at the website, I thought this must be some cruel joke. Maybe my co-worker was trying to tell me something. Maybe I do need to lose 21 pounds in 21 days. Then I kept reading. My favorite line on the website was this:

"The detox is a fully liquid protocol–you will not chew while you are at the Retreat."

That's right there are no solid foods at this place! Seriously. I might be well on my way of returning to my birth weight after 12 days of this!! Then I read about the colon cleansings and the parasite treatments and I have no idea what I'm in for!! I'm guessing that the price is right so I'll take one for my company on this one! At least I'll give it my best effort!

Ms. Kagan, Again

On Friday, POTUS threw a little reception in the East Room for his latest Supreme Court nominee before she officially became a justice. I feel like I actually know Elena Kagan because I was there when she was nominated and now I was here for this. And I watched a LOT of her confirmation hearings. We're practically BFF! :) J/K! I did watch her hearings though and not to be mean but for some reason, I could automatically picture the SNL skit about her. I actually never saw if SNL did do a skit but if they need any ideas, I'm available!!

Anyway, the event itself was rather unremarkable... maybe it's because I've been there for the last three new SCOTUS justices and I take it for granted. When a friend asked me how the event was, I answered "historic". I have to stop and realize that this is not an every day occurrence! I have to remember that I'm blessed to be able to see all these historic moments and I really need to embrace each one so that they don't all run together!

Here are some photos shot from Friday afternoon...

Trip to the Mothership

On Monday, I went with POTUS for a quick trip to Hot-lanta. Actually, I was not on AF1 so I flew commercially the night before. I am really beginning to loathe flying commercially. I know no one feels sorry for me but when you're used to little to no hassles and then it's a hassle every single time, it begins to really get on one's nerves! After a several hour delay on Sunday night, I finally made it to ATL and got to sleep in a very comfy bed in the Four Seasons! Fancy-schmancy! That's how I roll (when I'm not paying for it!)


POTUS was in town for the Disabled American Veterans convention. I'd like to say I saw him but even though I was in the same room with him, the way they set it up, I would have needed a telescope to see him! It was possibly the worst cuts position ever! :) I took this picture with my blackberry zoomed in and if you look really closely you can almost see the stage!
After the event, I went over to the mothership. Or at least that's what I call it. My network's headquarters. I hadn't been there in a very long time and it was so cool to see so many of my colleagues that I talk to on the phone all the time or message over the computer. Putting faces to names is always a great thing!! One major difference between the mothership and my bureau is that that place is HUGE!! I feel like I walked a million miles!! I did make it to the gift shop but I couldn't decide which crap with my company's logo on it that I needed. So I opted for nothing. Apparently I get a pretty good discount but I decided I just didn't need anything in that store!


Today, I had one event to go with POTUS. It was for a town-hall type thing in the East Room with young African leaders. It was a packed room and frankly, I couldn't see much because I'm so short. I did peak in between people to snap a few pictures. This event was cool because there was so much color in the room. It wasn't cool because it went on for a long time. I eventually just had to sit down on the WH floor because my feet hurt and they don't let us sit on WH furniture! These young leaders were at the top of their game and asked POTUS quite a few interesting questions!

Heat Wave!

Remember six months ago when I was blogging about getting stuck in three feet of snow and how I couldn't wait until summer? Now, here we are six months later wishing it weren't so hot. If it's not clear, this sign says 109!!!! Seriously!! I guess we'll never be content!!

Last weekend (I'm hoping I am not throwing you off too much by going a little bit out of order!), it was a scorcher!! And my friend Eric was in town visiting. Thankfully we didn't play tourist for that much of the weekend so we avoided most of it.

Eric, who I've told you about before, was in town to speak at the men's breakfast at my church on Saturday morning. His story is such a gripping story that I greatly encourage you to go out and buy. Every time I talk with him, I am completely blessed and inspired by the way the Lord worked (and is working) in his life. It's always a cool thing to actually see where God is at work! Getting to hear him speak at the men's breakfast (yes, I completely crashed the testosterone-rich event!) was awesome and I know he was quite a blessing to all who heard him.But later in the evening, we decided that we should stop by the Lincoln Memorial. He had never been there and we could park nearby so we braved the heat and played tourist for a short while. Even at 7:00p, it was 94 degrees. And the Lincoln had been invaded by about 50,000 Boy Scouts. We talked to several of them who looked like they were near-passing-out and then decided to ask one of them to take our picture. I mean, that's what Boy Scouts do, right?

On Sunday, Eric spoke in both church services at my church and once again, was able to be such a blessing!

His entire story, but especially the faith part, is really a must-read so I'll put a plug in once again! :)