Hey Explorers – Follow me on your quest to uncover the many extremes found in the Natural History Museum! Tonight, you will dine like the dinos, marvel at the mummies, and sing like the cicadas to earn the title of Smithsonian Junior Explorer!
Our Everyday
Sharing our stories, big and small.
I’ve lived an ordinary life. The only one of four children to be born in the United States, my parents immigrated and struggled and succeeded in creating a new and safe home for us. They worked long hours, learned enough English to get by and found comfort and community in religion. They raised their four daughters as best they could, prioritizing piano and church over cheer leading and parties. We had enough to have a warm house, new clothes from Sears, dinners at Pizza Hut and an Atari but not enough for hotels, a vacation to Europe, dinners at Red Lobster and SAT prep classes.
I’ve lived an ordinary life. I got a job as soon as I was old enough, went to state college and dove right into a full-time job after graduation. I married, had children and bought a house in the suburbs. My sisters stories all unfolded similarly. None of us are rocket scientists or neurosurgeons but we are all happily married, employed and live within 45 minutes of each other.
I’ve lived an ordinary life. I haven’t won the lottery or an Oscar but I also don’t know what a prison or a rehab center look like. I’ve gone hungry because of my slim fast diet in college and the sporadic years throughout my youth and adulthood of discovering the secret to a flat stomach, not eating. The only scars I carry are on my left shin and left elbow from a bicycle accident when I was eight.
Anthony and I recently enjoyed Summer Escape at Mount Vernon, a unique opportunity to experience Mount Vernon after hours. While enjoying craft beers from local breweries including Old Ox Brewery, Atlas Brew Works, Old Bus Head Brewery and Forge Brew Works we chatted with Lady Washington and was transported to the 18th century with music, dancing, beer brewing and blacksmith demonstrations.
Seven Oaks Lavender Farm is a small family-owned and operated lavender farm in Catlett, Virginia.
Earlier this Spring we spent an afternoon visiting Harpers Ferry in Jefferson County, West Virginia. Sitting at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers is a quaint, historic community.
“I come home in the morning light
My mother says when you gonna live your life right
Oh mother dear we’re not the fortunate ones
And girls they want to have fun
Oh girls just want to have fun
They met when they were four months old. Her mother and I quickly bonded over recent staycations at Starwood properties in DC and the nightmare of our recent deliveries at the hands of the same ObGyn. Future coffees and playdates were quickly scheduled and unbeknownst to them a lifelong friendship was being forged.
Six years later my daughter asks me two days before their visit “Mommy, are you excited like me?” Six years later I see her face light up like with no other. Six years later I witness my daughter having her first best friend.
Bain Dance Academy present their 4th Annual Dance Recital. For the past five months Penny has been dancing in the ballet/jazz combo class. Her class will perform a jazz routine and a ballet routine for the recital.
I love art. I love visual art and performance art; the Caravaggio hanging in the Galleria Borghese in Rome, the saxophonist in Central Park, the cow sculptures that grazed New York City streets in the summer of 2000, Frida Kahlo’s letters to her secret lover José Bartoli, the play “Astro Boy and the God of Comics” directed by Natsu Onoda Power, “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tart. Art is what makes me feel more than me, more than a software sales professional, more than a mother living in the suburbs of Northern Virginia. Art connects me to something beyond my circumstance. When I find myself in a moment of art that moment is transformed from ordinary to memorable, adding nuance to the experience and settling itself deep down in the foundation of me.
I want to give my children a box full of crayons, with every color imaginable, so that they can create out of nothing, think beyond the lines and transform ordinary into art.
You love your pink doggy. Your faithful companion who comes to life just for you, sharing secrets and kisses. You love to snuggle. With thumb in mouth, pink doggy tucked under your arm and your blankie trailing behind, you make your way into my arms. You love trains. Thomas, Chuggington, the Monorail at Disney World, the Metro train, any train. You could challenge Tommy from 94.7 with your knowledge and love of pop songs. You shimmy your hips and belt out “Fancy” by Iggzy Azalea, “Lips Are Moving” by Meghan Trainor and “Sugar” by Maroon 5, the Kidz Bop version of course.
Our Everyday 