Oscar Night

Did anyone else watch the Oscars? Was James Franco completely STONED or was it just me? I really enjoyed Anne Hathaway (though there were admittedly a few strikingly awkward moments of Tracy Flick-esque earnestness). I feel kind of bad for her because she basically carried the WHOLE SHOW ALONE while J Franco was busy being stoned/drunk/too cool for school. I must say that I REALLY really enjoyed the Robert Downey Jr./Jude Law banter last night. To quote the FugGirls, "It's official: Robert Downey, Jr. is the way to make me care about Jude Law again." They were a terrific duo in Sherlock Holmes (thank goodness that movie was totally set up for a sequel). And isn't RDJ a good sport about his drug/hooker problems? What a trooper. Charlie Sheen, I hope you were taking notes. ... Sorry, I got distracted trying to find a picture of J Franco and Anne Hathaway looking really awkward together. Shockingly, I couldn't find one. BYT Tweeted that Reese Witherspoon looked like she got confused and went to the Oscar's instead of The Miss Texas Pageant circa 1963 or something like that. I have to disagree. I thought she looked pretty great. She reminded me of classic Barbie in the black and white striped bathing suit and I kind of loved it. Also, to paraphrase GMA, mother's were the accessory of choice for the 2011 Oscar's. But was anyone's mom more awesome than Tim Hooper's? She SCOUTED the movie for him. She went to an unrehearsed reading of an unproduced play, went home and told him about it, and here he is accepting the best picture award. To paraphrase Tim Hooper, listen to your mother.

Longest Run on the Mountain

...and a video nearly as long. I suffer from severe post-vacation depression, humor me while I try to remedy this by forcing my vacation videos upon you.

Untitled from Victoria Sievers on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

What Marriage Really Looks Like

Team S*-style, anyway. :)

Wild Wild (& Cold) West

Here are a few pictures from this past weekend when it was clear and beautiful. We've been in the thick of the storm since Tuesday, so I haven't taken many other pictures. Today it's actually in the negatives 20s or so on the mountain and some of the lifts are close because of high winds, so no skiing today! Hanging out at the base lodge. Getting ready to head up the mountain. Chair lift to the summit. View north from the summit of the mountain. Snow ghosts! Happy hour at the Great Northern. Sled Dogs! They gave us puppy kisses. Frabert at the Bierstube. Yup. It's cold!

Oh hey, just hanging out, skiing some pow

Wish You Were Here from Victoria Sievers on Vimeo.

Valentine's Day

In honor of Valentine's Day I watched the Bachelor last night. Actually, the truth is, [Husband] was watching the Caps game upstairs so the TV was momentarily NOT dominated by hockey and Mythbusters and I took the opportunity to get in some brain-rotting wonderfulness. I have a few observations/thoughts that kept running through my head last night:

• Watching these women chase after this man this way just makes me think of lab rats in a cage, fighting over cheese.

• Another scenario that comes to mind is an oldie but a goodie: Remember that guy in college who used to, like, kinda act like he liked you? Like sometimes he'd make out with you, but then he'd pretend not to see you in the caf, or call/IM you on break but not actually want to talk to you--I will skip the long-winded description of this guy and just direct you here--and you're like WHY DOESN'T HE LOVE ME, WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME, WHAT"S WRONG WITH HIM, I MUST SUCK, WHY DOESN'T HE LOVE ME? And then he dates a girl in your dorm and they have this crazy hot and heavy relationship for 3 years, except she's actually your next door neighbor AND in your sorority and you're like, WHAT? I don't get it.
• Alternatively, it reminds me of the scenario above except when all your hall-mates have a crush on the same guy and you stalk his regular carrel on the third floor of Swem and your roommate likes to wait in your room till she knows he's walking to class and then it turns out he's [insert undesirable trait here: Mormon, gay, just not that into you or any of your friends, dating a girl back home who you later heard he married].
• The whole swimsuit cover date, was kind of badass. That would be pretty sweet, honestly. But that needed to either be a one-on-one date or all 6 of the remaining girls needed to be there to spread the animosity around some more. It was still way badass. If [Husband] took me on that date, I would so marry him/want him to give me a rose.
• Why are you angry when you get kicked off? You knew someone was leaving. It's a reality show!

It's just reality tv, but I can't help, but think about the deeper sociological questions that the Bachelor (and other shows like it) present unintentionally. I once uttered the phrase, "a close reading of the Twilight series" so take my sociological take on reality TV for what you will. Prior to the Bachelor I watched Watson's debut on Jeopardy against Ken Jennings and that other guy. Was anyone else pissed that they only played the FIRST round? REALLY? The game ended at 7:53pm and then there were 7 minutes of terrible commercials. And after The Bachelor, I watched a PBS documentary called "Girls" about how adolescent girls form relationships and attachments. It was like a mash up Teen Mom and True Life, but with out the undue glorification, so it was a real intellectual evening in the S* household. After that I did dishes and made cookies, so what does that say about me?

:(

After all that talk about laying waste to my iPhone the minute it was deposited in my hot little hands, guess who put [Husband's] Droid phone through the wash on Sunday? Me. [sigh]. It wasn't a full cycle and I swear I checked the pockets before I put them in the laundry basket, but I missed it. Is it bad if I think that if he just put his clothes in the hamper to begin with this wouldn't be an issue? Don't answer that. I know that has nothing to do with it. Ugh. We tried sticking it in rice over night and sticking it in the freezer. No luck so far. We're going to go to the Verizon store tonight and see if they'll possibly let us start a new two year contract so we can replace the phone for that price instead of the crazy retail cost of the phone. F. I'm eating cookies for breakfast to console myself. Any advice or magic tricks for reviving a wet phone?

It's Actually a Boston Qualifier, it's Kind of a Serious Race

Saturday morning I will arise at the fine hour of 7am and do my very serious marathon training long run in the cold and semi-dark dawn. At approximately 11:30am I will be heading to participate in the madness that is Cupid's Undie Run. Indeed, I've paid $40 for the privilege of running around the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court in my underwear. Sans pantalones, if you will. It's all for a good cause of course and nothing says fun like running, beer, 45 degrees and birthday suits. It's not dignified. I'm sure [Husband] is secretly mortified that I'm participating, but you only live once, and now I can say, "Yes, in fact I HAVE run across Capitol Hill in red satin underwear."

Pictures from Today

Here's my desk aka THE CUBE OF POWER (cue Thunder Cats-esque montage and background music). Really though it's terrible. Everyone thinks I'm the receptionist. And I can't see anything. A manager down the hall from me was pregnant for 6 months before I even noticed becuase I only see people from the ribcage up. Though I do have a great talent for what I call "minding my own damn business" at work. That may have also contributed. But I'll always blame it on that desk. Dinner! I made Drunken Noodles with chicken, eggplant and bok choy by combining this recipe and this recipe. I went to the Bangkok 54 Market (one of the advantages of residing on the "ethnic" side of Arlington) and I bought enough wide rice noodles to feed thousands for $3.49. We'll be feasting on this for a few days. It was quite good. Very spicy though. Suitable for inducing labor or giving your MIL heartburn. And finally, the Beast. The Beast attends Doggie Daycare twice a month and she is always supremely tuckered out when she comes home at the end of the day. She has more or less been in this position since 6:23pm tonight. It will take serious convincing and probably some treats to motivate her to go for a walk here shortly. SWEET LITTLE BEAST. Little Griffin (or Little Baby Dog Animal, as my mom likes to call her). What a sweet babu.

Another Bullet Point Post

I didn't realize I was surrounded by so many fellow NPR lovers and Ira Glass fans! Yay! Here are four of my very favorite "This American Life" broadcasts from the past 3 years or so. They are .99 cents to buy from the archives (I think it would be $4 well spent), but start subscribing through iTunes and your future broadcasts will be free to download. 1) Going Big. This is my all-time fave TAL. I think it's a great example of the show's set-up: one theme embodied in a really different ways. This broadcast tells the story of three different people going to great lengths, making "sweeping gestures" to accomplish something. Geoffrey Cananda's book, Whatever It Takes is still on my "To Read" list. 2) Scenes from a Recession. This broadcast was just incredibly creative. We're all familiar with the obvious side-affects of the recession, but what about the not so obvious? Really well done stories that made you think. 3) Bad Bank. TAL has done an incredible job covering the recession and financial crisis and making it UNDERSTANDABLE to recovering "I-can't-read-a-credit-card-statement" people like myself. This broadcast was excellent and this page links to a lot of the other coverage by TAL. If you wish you understood what on earth has happened over the last couple years, download a few of these and listen. 4) Last but not least, #1 Party School. Penn State was named the number one party school in America by the 2009 Princeton Review. As a former RA and someone who already worries what tell her unborn children about drinking and college I found this really thought provoking. For those of you who were around during all the party upheaval and "end of fun" at W&M, I think you'll relate and be interested in how Penn State handled their alcohol problems. Happy Listening!

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

The danger in working out at the gym in the morning before work is that eventually, despite all your careful planning, you will slip up. You will make a mistake. And you will end up going to work wearing a hounds-tooth skirt with argyle tights that you thought were un-patterned black. Whoops. Good thing I sit in my cube all day and no one ever see me from the waist down. Seriously, I could have unicorn hooves or a mermaid tail under here and no one would know.

My iPhone Arrived Today

I feel like I have a better understanding of Edward's feelings towards Bella now. (If you don't know what I'm talking about just stop reading now...) I don't have the strength to stay away from you anymore, but it would probably be better for you, iPhone, if we weren't friends. And iPhone, you simply do not understand my strength, nor do you comprehend your own fragility. I could really hurt you. In other news, [Husband], of his own free will, requested to see all the Twilight movies. We are watching Eclipse tonight (MY FAVORITE).

Saturday/Sunday

I actually wrote this on Sunday, but the internet ate it and I didn't have the will to write it over again til today. Take your pick, if you're training for any kind of long distance, either Saturday or Sunday is a big day for you. It's your long run day. Saturday is my day. And on Sundays, I do a little easy "couple of miles run." In honor of the weekend and long run days here are a few of my favorites running things (I use the term "things" loosely, they may be items or stuff I like about running): 1) Capri running pants. Fact: my thighs rub together. Fact: this is uncomfortable. Capri running pants are awesome because there is no ride up, no awkward, "oh hey, you, yeah I'm pulling the crotch of my pants down as I lope down the trail." And no excrutiatingly painful chafing. I'm ok with my thighs rubbing together, it's the way I'm made. I'm not ok withchaffing if it can be avoided. I have two pairs of capris, one pair is Addidas climalite and the other is UnderArmour Heat Gear. I love/wear them all year round. In the summer/fall/spring their my go to running bottoms. In the winter, I'll wear them under tights or warm-up pants for an extra layer on my thighs (which tend to get extra cold). 2) Brooks running light. It's probably not so good, but I like to run at night. I have a 12 mile route that takes me through DCs "party districts" (Georgetown, Dupont, and Adams Morgan) that I really like to do on Thursday and Friday nights in the summer and fall. In the winter I have a few neighborhood routes I like to run in the evenings. And so the Brooks Nightlife LED is essential. It's magnetic, so you can stick it anywhere and has blinking LED lights to make you more visible to cars, and other vehicles. I usually stick it on the back of my jacket or shirt so traffic coming up behind me can see me better (I hope!). I keep it in the console of our car, so I never forget to take it with me. 3) This American Life. It's my favorite thing to listen to on my iPod when I'm running. The shows are thought provoking, and generally about an hour and then um, narrated by IRA GLASS. I don't know what it is about his voice, but I could listen to it forever. I have a crush on Ira Glass' voice. There I said it. But seriously. TAL is perfect for running. It's gs your mind of the run and gets you thinking about the timely topic their discussing. It's easy to get lost in the story and before you know it, you've been running for an hour or more. 4) Trails. I am so lucky to live where I do and have access to so many fantastic trail systems: The Mount Vernon Trail, The Capital Crescent, the Custis Trail and the Washinger or ton & Old Dominion are all within a few minutes drive of me. It's got to be one of the best things about living it DC and what makes the great DC area so runner friendly. 5) Eastern Mountain Sports Running Vest. This is my go to base layer. It's made of "windstopper" fabric and so it's useful about 3/4 of the year. In the spring and fall and wear it over long sleeve AND short sleeve shirts and in the winter I wear it between my base layers and my running jacket. Think about the difference between a 30 degree day with 15 mile an hour winds and a 30 degree day with no wind. That's the difference between wearing the vest and not.

Addendum

I can't believe I left this off the list yesterday:

• Orange Crush at Mickey Finns in West Ocean City. So simple, but so delicious. It's a fresh squeezed orange over vodka on the rocks with a splash lemon/lime soda and triple sec. THe fresh oj makes this drink what it is.

On a gross rainy day like this I'm looking forward to happy hour outside in warm weather (preferably dock-side).

Heck Yes, Friday

In honor of Friday and bars and happy hour, a few of my favorite cocktails. 1) Number one top of the list is a Dirty Banana at Seacrets in Ocean City. Say what you want about Ocean City, say what you want about Seacrets (I will quickly reassure you I only go there during the day), but this drink is the s$#@. Bananas, DeKuypers Banana Schnapps, Kahlua, chocolate syrup, possibly rum and cream? So goooood. I should see if I have a picture for you somewhere... 2) Cranberry Bourbon Punch at PS7. This is the most ridiculous drink I've ever had. It's better than a crack stuffed Chipotle Burrito topped with truffles. It's amazing. And so simple. And you barely even know there's booze in it. Gina Chersevanni, the Mixologist in Chief at PS7 is a genius. It's cranberries and pears juiced together with rosemary, bourbon and some simple syrup and a smidge of lemon I think. It was the seasonal punch this winter and it was seriously out of this world. 3) A Berret's Bloody Mary. I wish I could still remember the exact recipe for the bloody mix, but basically make it extra spicy and rim the glass with old bay. I love salt. 4) Gnomes Water at Tallula - Incredibly refreshing mix of cucumber water and Hendricks Gin. Ahhh, I feel refreshed just thinking about it. And the Gin does actually matter. There's something about Hendricks...it's just so cool. 5) Presidential Martini at Off the Record at the Hay Adams. Olives? Check. Stuffed with DELICIOUS Blue Cheese? Check! Shaken extra hard? Yes. Served up? Oh, Yes. The atmosphere at Off the Record is very cool. Exactly the kind of place you want to be having a martini in Washington. It's steps from the White House in the basement of the Hay Adams Hotel (Where nothing is overlooked except the White House. Really). Doesn't hurt that this guy is your bartender either. Whooo, Friday! Have a good one.

A Thursday Hodge Podge

It's been toooo long. I can't seem to think of cohesive posts, so I thought I'd just leave the blog post window open and right down thoughts as they come to me this afternoon. A "Brain Dump" post of you will.

• For an anti-technology fan, and someone who is not on facebook, I really freaking LOVE twitter. I follow a few friends, a few bloggers, but mostly companies or news outlets that I like. I kind of feel like a tool when I tweet, but it's such an incredible interactive tool and amazing for bringing information together quickly. You know how I knew my commute was screwed the day of Thundersnowmageddonocolypesjam? Because of tweets and retweets by sites like Arlington Now.
• It REALLY kills me when people try to walk on the elevator without letting people get off. I'M SORRY THIS ISN'T YOUR PERSONAL ELEVATOR. So rude.
• Our dog is a great white shark. I'm pretty sure if you x-rayed the Griffs fat beast belly you'd find tin cans and old shoes and stuff. Sometime over the course of last week she chewed a little plastic piece with a spring in it from the privacy cover for our station wagon's trunk. You know how we figured this out...
• I got Quicken for Christmas and just set it up about 2 weeks ago. It's awesome! I feel so in control! And slightly less broke as well as more motivated to spend less since I can see the wonderful couches, refrigerators, and vacations (and car repair and house/life emergencies) we are saving for.
• I got up at 3am this morning to order an iPhone online. I don't need an iPhone (see prior claim to be anti-technology), but no one said "no" and stopped m,e so I did it. I'm waiting to see what magnificent punishment gets doled out for this extravagance. I'll take an over/ under on how long it takes me to crack the screen or something.
• I signed up for the Oklahoma City Marathon yesterday (random, I know, my dad lives there).
• Would anyone like to run the Richmond (11/12) or Philly Half (11/20)? I can see it now...we can be "Team In Real Life!" I'll make the t-shirts.
• There's a sign in the kitchen on my floor that says, "please be considerate, don't leave food in the microwave. thank you." I am DYING, like DYING to post a sign that says "Now I just want to leave food in the microwave just to bug you." I've restrained myself so far.
• I never call anyone. I'm terrible about staying in touch. When I haven't called in a long time, I feel guilty and then I feel less like calling than I did before and then I feel bad so I don't think about it. It's a phone-phobia. And also a fear that I will run out of things to say.
• I really like reading people's birth stories. I think I would rather know all the rough, unedited details so I won't be taken too off guard. I want to know how painful it might be, how much stuff to steal from the hospital (and what to steal) and what kind of candy to bring the nurses. The need for this information is far enough in the future that I shouldn't be expending my limited brain power on it now.
• Similarly, whenever I see coupons for pregnancy tests I think I should clip it and stock up, you know, for later. Because we have room in our bathroom for that....
• I also worry about who will teach our kids to drive (not me...) and if our dog will like kids (she hasn't shown a real talent for this yet).
• OMG, how is it 4pm already. ugh.

Happy Thursday!