We Are Officially Famous:)

Check us out (and the Make an Impact Web site) here: http://makeanimpact.pewclimate.org/. I feel so fortunate to work at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change where people try to make a difference every day. And...not in the money-making way, either.

Early 2010 in Pictures

The newest addition to the Americano-Romanian crowd - and already the life of the party!

















Family and friends in 3D








At the Reading Terminal Market in Philly with Uli.










In Philly with the Ulis.












People were skiing on Van Dorn Street during Snowmagedon 2010...















Fun snow days.

Time Square after watching West Side Story on Broadway.

With great friends in NYC.

Philly

We spent time with our German friends, Uli and Uli, in Philadelphia this weekend. The City of Brotherly Love. Or so they say. While we really enjoyed the food and sights, we didn't so much enjoy the people we encountered. There were a lot of rude people. More than I ever met in NYC. Is that possible??

Regardless, one of the best places we spent time in is the Reading Terminal Market. It is an amazing indoor market where you can find anything from hot pancakes and freshly roasted turkey sandwiches to lobsters, cheese, Amish bread and baby books. All in an enclosed space that beautifully mixes together the smells of a European-style market. We browsed through the stands and enjoyed an Amish-made brunch.

I highly recommend this place if you ever stop by Philly. Oh, and don't forget the cheese steak. We had one downtown and while I felt my arteries clogging it was so worth it!

Here's to the City of Brotherly Love - and to friendlier inhabitants in the future.

Ready for Spring

Jason said I got what I asked for: a lot of snow this winter. We played in it, we ate it, we made snow angels and we cleaned it off our cars and patio (a few times). Now I am OFFICIALLY ASKING FOR SPRING! Thank you.

A Few Things

1. Life will be tough once the Olympics end. Jason and I are addicted.


2. My mission organization continues - I have organized all my greeting/birthday/Xmas/note cards and have a few glass jars to fill for the pantry. It makes my life make sense. If everything else fails, I really think I could dab into being a professional organizer.


3. I am giving up sweets for Lent. As my husband highlighted, it will be ROUGH. I have developed a sweet tooth since the holidays and it is time to nip it in the butt. So, along with spiritual cleansing, I am attempting a physical cleansing too. Plus, we have a wedding to attending FL at Easter, so how perfect would it be to be in bathing suit shape by then? That might not be the point of lent, but it I think it helps with the motivation!

4. We are headed to Philly this weekend to spend time with our German friends - the Uli's:). Guaranteed fun!

5. We'd like to send a shout out to Baby Claire, Tom and Colleen's baby girl who was born this week. Welcome to life, it's a crazy ride!

Here's to a great weekend for all and an easy Lent.

A Week of Snow

Many records have been broken in the past week in the DC area: amount of snow, days of closed federal government, and maybe even consecutive days spent at home with hubby, doing nothing but eating, watching TV, playing in the snow, and doing legit work on my new laptop. It was fun while it lasted! We were fortunate in that we did not lose power - except for 3 minutes last Friday (long enough to throw me in a panic and to receive obscene text messages from neighbors).

Now it's back to the grind - although we are looking forward to a long weekend that will be spent recovering from snow, Jason's cold and enjoying Valentines Day. Oh and looking forward to yet another long weekend next week when we meet our German friends Uli and Uli in Philadelphia.

2010 is off to a great start!

Here's to a continued good year and Happy Valentines Day to all!

Too Connected or Not Connected Enough? Aka the Facebook Disease

For the past few days my sometimes-long/sometimes-short drives to and from work (depending on traffic) have allowed me to think about how I connect with people.


This topic has long been on my mind. Having grown up in a society where your best girlfriend knows EVERYTHING about you (bra and panty size included) and you are connected at the hip, whether you are young or old, I now live in a society where most people are more reserved and private. And yes, while there are still those who have those relationships, most people have a lot of friends and acquaintances with whom we share a somewhat diluted closeness level - very different than what I am accustomed to.

One thing to add to this is today's electronic world. I have never been a phone person myself, preferring in person contact. But adding email and texting into the mix and lately I myself obsessed with checking email, Facebook and blogs - all electronic ways of feeling connected...but not really. While it is fun and definitely important to know what the most popular chick in high school is up to nowadays (waitress??), I know it really does not add any value to my life or to my existing relationships. I think I am connected, I feel like I am connected, but in reality that is very far from the truth. Nothing can be said on Facebook that cannot be said in person or on the phone. It might not reach all those people, but ... do we really need it to reach all those people??

So, as of tomorrow, Feb 4, I am taking a pledge to call people more and visit in person, rather than stalk online and send emails/text messages. I also pledge to not use Facebook unless it is for work (yes, we have two Facebook accounts people!) for a month. The point of this is not to be disconnected, but rather to try to be TRULY more connected with people.

What do you think, will I make it??