Things I Don't Understand--
Why SJP won't cut this child's hair
What made Kanye say, "Sure, I'll wear that to the party."
Who would wear these "boot sandals"
Why we're supposed to believe this woman had three kids in less than four years
That's all for now. I hope to be a better blogger from here on out.
-Princess C
Lightfoot Restaurant - Leesburg
After brunch, we headed to an orchard in Purcellville, Va., which is apparently "everybody's home town," to do some apple picking. (The name escapes me.) Unfortunately, there were no "pickers," which made the picking difficult, seeing as how all the ripe and non-wormy apples were up pretty high in the trees. [sigh] Alas, the hubbies (such heroes!) climbed a few trees, and a few good apples were gotten. (Bad grammar, I know.) I didn't get any pictures of the boys in the trees - probably because I was afraid I would be fallen on and my camera would be broken. I sure wish I had, though.
After apple picking, we headed to Notaviva Vineyards, also in Purcellville. Now, this was a cool place. It hasn't been open that long. In fact, the winery and its owners are the current stars of HGTV's "Dream House."
One of the owners, who did our tasting, told us that Notaviva is a made-up word, meaning "the intrinsic effect of music upon human emotion." The winery's brand identity is about marrying wine and music - so each bottle gives recommendations for what music goes with the wine.
Now, some of you may not believe this - seeing as how you've witnessed me chug a few bottles in my day - but this was my first winery experience. I got to partake in my first official tasting, and I liked almost every wine I tried. We ended up buying a few bottles to take home.
It was a great day, spent with some great people!
-Princess Cyndi
Andy, me, MaryJo, and Matt
Robinson's Rebels With A Cause
-Princess Cyndi
Team sign
Miss Madelyn
Jason and Jaime
Snoop Dogg, MaryJo's sister's dog
Jaime and Madelyn
-Princess Cyndi
Andy - humoring me with a wave
John and Ann - very focused on the game
Mark - pretending not to like that I'm taking his picture
-Princess Cyndi
A few minutes after we sat down, our waiter came to take our drink order and bring the salad bowl. We were ready to order, so we went ahead and told him what we wanted.
A while after he brought our dirnks, we noticed that the people at the tables around us were eating their warm, delicious rolls. The next time our waiter walked by our table, I stopped him and said, "Do we get rolls?" He didn't say anything...just walked away...off to get our rolls, I was certain.
When he came back, he was carrying our pizzas. No rolls in sight. He said, "I don't want you to think I forgot the rolls. I didn't think you would want them since you're eating all this bread."
As he put down our pizzas and walked away, Kim and I just looked at each other. We were basically put on low carb diets by the Bread Nazi - "No rolls for you!"
Don't you worry - he didn't get a big tip.
-Princess Cyndi
If this approach stops working, I will try this one.
In an emergency, I will employ this tactic.
-Princess Cyndi
I look forward to spending time with them in Roanoke this weekend. “Eartime” for everyone! Yippee!
On a (slightly) related note, I had my day made when a nice man stopped me in the airport parking lot and said, "You are a bit of sun on this rainy day." Gosh - that was nice!
Have a great weekend, Princess Cyndi
I went over to see Coby before heading over to Kim's condo to watch the Emmy's. Look how cute he is...
Such a sweet face...
Getting more comfortable...
He seemed a little bit confused about why he was at Mike and Jaime's house. I'm sure he misses his brothers and sisters, too. Hopefully, he'll start settling in soon, and will love his new forever family.
Madelyn sure seem excited to have Coby around. She was talking up a storm to him...although I'm sure he didn't understand one word, but soon enough, she'll be EASIER to understand, and he'll be READY to understand. I'm sure they'll be great buddies!
Since I had brought my camera over to snap some pics of Coby, I thought I'd try to snap a few of Madelyn, too. Unfortunately, she wasn't in a posing kind of mood (a little overstimulated with the addition of her new friend, Coby). She was, however, quite interested in my camera. Here's a picture of her asking to take it away. (She kept saying, "My turn! My turn!" I had to tell her that the camera is my toy, and that I wasn't sharing.)
Have a great week,
Princess Cyndi
First, we stopped by my sorority sister Mandi's new house. It was great seeing Will and Jack and Mike again after about three years. I had last seen Mandi last summer when she, Wendy, and I met in Fredericksburg for lunch. She's currently pregnant with her third child, and I'm very excited for her and Mike.
Andy, Mandi, and I went to lunch at a cute restaurant called Cafe Caturra, while Mike put the boys down for their naps. 
Me and Mandi
After leaving Mandi and Mike's house, Andy and I headed to Heather and Mark's house. In addition to visiting with Mark and Heather (and Charlie, too), we got to meet Lillian, who was born on September 11, and spend some time with Bennett, who will turn two next month.
Handsome Bennett
Precious Lillian
Big sister, Charlie
After spending a few hours with Heather and Mark and Bennett and Lillian, we headed to Short Pump Town Center to meet up with Larry and Catie, my uncle and cousin. (Liz was off in Sandbridge for her annual ladies' weekend.) We ate at a great Mexican restaurant. We hadn't seen any of the Spencer clan since late June, so it was great spending time with at least two of them them, hearing about the family's trip to Switzerland in July and Catie's school year so far. (She's a fifth grader already!) I always enjoy my time with Catie (and Larry and Liz, too!).
Me and Catie
After dinner, Andy and I headed home. We stopped to pick up Cooper at Carrie's house. She took great care of him while we were in Richmond. They took several walks and played ball. He was super tired when we got home. See...
Pooped Coop
It was a great day, spent with a few of my favorite people!
-Princess Cyndi
We have decided to let Basil go to another home. After thinking about it more, we aren't sure he's the best dog for us. His personality seems to point to the fact that he's an "alpha" dog, which means it is more likely that he and Cooper will compete for "top dog" in our home. That means marking territory, and I just don't think I can deal with that. We are back to pursuing females only, since that seems to be the best option for a dog with a strong personality like the Coop-man.
That said, some great news did come out of today's event. Jaime and Madelyn met us there, so Madelyn could play with the puppies. That sweet girl LOVES dogs. Jaime ended up falling for this sweetheart of a puppy. His name is Obi, because he's part of the "Star Wars" litter, but we called him "Toby." Check him out...
Such a sweet face.
Jaime and "Toby"
Jaime ended up completing and application and her first interview. Mike should be able to meet "Toby" sometime this week and, hopefully, he will come home with them next weekend. Yay!
In the meantime, Andy and I will keep looking for the right baby girl to add to our life. Wish us luck!
I'll leave you with one more picture. Check out how cute Miss Madelyn looks in her sunglasses! (I look a little heinous in this photo, but Madelyn is my girl, and she's precious, so I'll make an exception to the "no-heinous-PC-pics-on-the-blog" rule.)
I love this little girl so, so much.
Princess Cyndi
I finally got to meet Ethan, my Kappa sister and friend Wendy's baby boy today. He is seven weeks old, and so incredibly cute. Here's a picture of me holding me. (Doesn't it look like he likes me?)
After leaving Wendy's house, Andy and I went to a HART pet adoption event at the PetCo in Chantilly/Fairfax. We've been trying to adopt one of the dachshund puppies rescued from the huge puppy mill in West Virginia late last month. We may have found our newest family member. His name is Basil, and he's a four-month-old brown/red miniature dachshund. We did the first adoption interview, but still need to do the second interview and have a home visit. Two two things will likely happen next weekend. Here's a picture of Basil. (It's not great, but it's the best one of him on the rescue Web site.)
Andy met Nathan, Paul, our neighbor, Matt R., and a few other folks at Glory Days near our house to watch the Virginia Tech game. When he got home, we went out for dinner (Italian). Now, I'm waiting on the new SNL to come on, which my man, Michael Phelps, is hosting. (Yay!)
Tomorrow, we're going to another adoption event - for A Forever Home. That organization rescued more puppies and younger dogs from the West Virginia puppy mill. If we meet end up meeting a puppy/dog that fits us better than Basil, then we'll stop the process we started today. Stay tuned for an update!
Have a great night, PC
It was fun having almost the entire restaurant to ourselves. Also, since the kitchen wasn't that busy, we got both an appetizer (tuna tartare) and a dessert (white cheesecake) on the house. Free food - the way to a woman's heart!
I think everyone enjoyed their meal, and a good time was had by all.
Here's a picture!
(l->r) Jen, Tara, me, Amy, Tatana, Elizabeth, Edie
I look forward to next month's dinner at Central. Yum!
Have a great week, Princess Cyndi
Basically, there were a bunch of clues, and the students were supposed to list the two homonyms that went with that clue. Example: "naked furry mammal" would be "bare bear."
That little school assignment got me thinking about how many homonyms exist in the English language. (There are tons!) Below are seven of them. Can you think of more?
1. more, moor
2. ark, arc
3. male, mail
4. feet, feat
5. there, their
6. meat, meet
7. real, reel
Have fun, Princess Cyndi
On Friday night, Andy and I met met some Hokie Kappa ladies (plus several significant others and children) for dinner at Maggiano's in Tysons Corner. It ws great seeing some old faces again.
Julie, Rebecca & Jeanine
Val, me, Laura & Sarit
Requisite "crazy" group shot
Andy and I did some lounging on Saturday. (We're quite good at it - especially me.) That night, we met up with more Kappa ladies for dinner at Silverado in Falls Church.
Small Saturday dinner group
On Sunday, I did some more lounging. (I know. Seriously.) I also went to the gym and cleaned the baseboards along the stairwell, which counteracted at least some of the laziness. That night, we met Melissa and Bud for dinner at Mikaku-Sushi Taro in Herndon/Oak Hill. We saw them at dinner on Saturday night, too, but it was kind of loud and overstimulating with all the other people there, so it was wonderful to catch up with them over a quiet dinner. We also hit Cold Stone Creamery after dinner, which was awesome! I hadn't had Cold Stone all summer, so that chocolate ice cream with little Snickers bits (heavenly goodness) totally hit the spot.
And then, guess what I did yesterday? If you said "more lounging," then you would be correct. Andy wasn't feeling well (stomach flu symptoms), so we hung out at home. I did manage to get to the grocery store and do some minor (very minor) cleaning, but for the most part, I was "L-A-Z-Y, I ain't got no alibi."
Overall, it was a wondefully relaxing weekend. And now, it's 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and I'm still trying to get motivated. Maybe tomorrow will be better...
Royally yours,
PC
Please...don't get me wrong. I have a great deal of respect for how difficult it is to speak another language. So much so, that when I visit Europe, I often feel ashamed that we Americans just expect everyone to speak English.
I took four years of French in high school, plus another semester at Virginia Tech; yet, I could just barely get by when we visited Paris in September 2006. That said, I still couldn't help laughing when I read the Web site of Little Palace Hotel, which is where Casey, Steph, Ann, and I are staying when we go to Paris in less than two months.
I told you we're taking a girly trip to Paris in October, right? We SO are! And, we're staying at a hotel with "Palace" in the name! So royally awesome.
But, I digress...
On the Little Palace Hotel Web site, under Hotel Services: "Little Palace Hotel accomodates you within a refined framework, at the same time traditional and contemporary. Built at the beginning of the century, its classified frontage, decorated with columns of marbles and stones carved emphasizes a resolutely contemporary interior decoration at the cordial, sober and smart tone."
Oh, I LOVE marbles and stones! And, "classified frontage," too - all the better! I have never seen polite ("cordial") decor before, but I look forward to telling you all about it after the trip.
A little further down, in the same section: "The Reception is at your disposal 24h/24 and proposes to you a personalized and cordial service, answering all your questions and advising you to conclude your stay."
I'm not sure how they can promise 24h/24, but I look forward to benefitting from that exceptional service. (24/7 just isn't enough for some people.) I just hope they don't advise us to "conclude" our stay before we're ready to check out!
Under The Rooms: "Each room were harmoniously decorated with contemporary furniture, hangings to the soft colors, visual resting and various lights aiming at creating a whole with purified lines and a feeling of comfort."
I definitely like to give my eyes a rest on vacation, so this is good. And, I'm all for harmony. I look forward to seeing those soft-colored hangings, too.
A little further down, also under The Rooms: "...some of these rooms have a balcony or a terrace which will guarantee an unspoilable view to you on Paris or to taste a breakfast in the open air."
Now, this is where I might have an issue. You see, if you know me at all, then you know that I'm pretty into food. (Motto: "I never miss a meal.") If these nice folks only plan on letting me "taste" breakfast, then we are going to need to have a little chat. I would like to eat it all, thank you. They should be as cordial as their decor and step off while the Princess is chowing down.
Au revoir, PC
It was great seeing Mom and Cheri. Unfortunately, we didn't make as good of a showing on the alcohol front as I originally suspected. We enjoyed cocktails on the beach each day, but the overall liquor consumption was quite tame. Of the four bottles of liquor brought to the beach, only 1.5 were consumed. (I'll allow you a moment to shake your head in shame.)
Despite the disappointing drinking behavior, we did enjoy an awesome breakfast each morning at the Omega Pancake & Omelet House. They have the best french toast I have ever eaten!
I did a lot of reading throughout the five days, especially in the car on Thursday and Monday. I finished "Between, Georgia," and read most of "How To Be Lost." The latter was my favorite of the two - a very, very good read.
Here are a few pictures taken during the weekend. (Mom was in a please-don't-take-my-picture kind of mood, so that's why there are none of her.)
Andy and Cheri
Me and my good-looking hubby
We'll see Mom again next month when we head to Roanoke to visit with Steph and Mark, who will be in the U.S. for the first time in more than a year. (I CAN'T WAIT to see them!) We'll see Cheri at Thanksgiving.
Peace out, Princess Cyndi
Read the whole story here. I hope he does wear the Speedo! :-)
-PC
First, after finishing "Happiness Sold Separately," I went to the bookshelf to pick out a new book. I chose "The Last Summer (of You and Me)." My cousin, Ann, had recently given it back to me, and given it a good review. I sat down to start the book later that night.
I read a few pages, and thought to myself, "This seems so familiar." Then I flipped further into the book and read a random sentence or two. "Yes, this definitely seems familiar. Why is that?"
Well, friends, it's because I had already read the book. "Last year," you ask. No, not last year. "Six months ago?" No, not six months ago, either. "Three months ago? Ding, ding, ding - right answer!
I just had to chuckle to myself over that one.
Then, today, I made a "run for the border" at lunchtime. (I know...SO unhealthy...but SO good.) After leaving the drive-through, I headed toward the nearby Bank of America to make a deposit. As soon as I got to the entrance to the bank, I realized something important.
I had driven away without my food.
So, I turned around and headed back to the Taco Bell, chuckling and shaking my head - like any old, regular crazy person.
The wedding was at the DAR Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and the weather was perfect! The ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception - except for dinner - were outside. Jen and Dana were so happy!
Here are a few pictures!
Me and Andy
First dance
Me and Jen
Me, Jen and Tatana
On Sunday, Andy and I slept in. In the afternoon, I went to see "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" with Kim. (Andy went to the hospital to meet Dylan (see below) while I was at the movies.) Then, Andy and I hung out, and he packed for his business trip to London. (He leaves today.)
In all, it was a very relaxing weekend! I look forward to going to the beach at the end of this week!
Other good things:
1. Paul and Shanyn are parents! Baby Dylan is super cute. I can't wait to meet him - hopefully, later this week. Here's a picture.
2. I like new words, and today, I discovered one while reading one of the HR magazines I track for work (HR Magazine). The word: inveterate. The definitions, according to Dictionary.com: (1) "settled or confirmed in a habit, practice, feeling, or the like: an inveterate gambler;" (2) "firmly established by long continuance, as a disease, habit, practice, feeling, etc.; chronic." See, now you learned something today. :-)
That's it for now. I'm out!
-Princess Cyndi
Don't get me wrong. I never forgot that I have a lot to be thankful for - wonderful husband, awesome family and friends, beautiful house, the best dog eva (yes, eva!), good job, solid health, etc., etc. I finally decided, last night, that I was tired of being sad.
So, Friday was a much brighter day. I went shopping after getting a pedicure and eyebrow waxing at my favorite spa, and I'm confident that, in addition to my attitude adjustment, these events contributed to the improved mood.
Anyway, here are some things going through my random mind this evening (in addition to babies, babies, babies):
1. Michael Phelps
By the end of the weekend, he will be finished swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Then, I'll have to wait four more years to watch him. 
2. My new sexy shoes
I went shopping tonight to find a dress to wear to Jen and Dana's wedding tomorrow night. I ended up buying two dresses, two pairs of shoes, two pairs of earrings, and two bracelets - basically, two complete outfits. And, guess what? I'm going to wear a dress that I already own. However, I'm keeping the shoes, earrings, and bracelets. Check out my sexy new silver shoes. -010604.jpg)
3. Jen and Dana
Jen, my college roommate, is getting married tomorrow. I'm so excited for her! As I mentioned in a previous blog, she found an awesome partner in Dana. I'm sure I'll be emotional as I watch them exchange vows. It's going to be a great event!
Congrats, Jen and Dana! Andy and I are always here for you, if you ever need anything!
4. Paul and Shanyn
Andy went to high school with Paul. He married a wonderful woman, Shanyn. They are going to become parents any minute. Shanyn is currently in labor. I can't wait to see if they have a son or a daughter. They have been waiting (over) nine months to find out!
Shanyn, I've been thinking about you all day. I hope things are going okay! Hang in there! You and Paul are going to be great parents!
5. Going to the beach
Andy and I are leaving for Myrtle Beach on Thursday. We'll spend four nights there with both of our moms. It should be a great time. I haven't been to Myrtle in several years. It always feels good to be there, because it's where I went just about every summer growing up - plus during Senior Week after high school graduation, with friends during college, and with Andy when we first started dating (his mom lived there then). Our moms get along really well, so a few days of relaxing with our favorite ladies will be awesome!
That's it for now! Enjoy your weekend!
-Princess Cyndi
