One of the joys of becoming an outdoor person myself is dragging my family along on my outdoor adventures. On Independence Day, while visiting my parents on R&R, I woke up feeling like taking a hike. I quickly researched the area options, and inspired by fond childhood memories, settled on Sugarloaf Mountain. By the time everyone else had woken up, had their coffee, and gotten dressed, I’d already settled on...
How do I know I’m getting old? All of my friends’ halloween parties started at 6 last night. And we didn’t go to any. My husband picked me up from FSI with the kids already in costume, but fast asleep. We went grocery shopping, and then came up and rushed to get the house picked up for trick-or-treaters. Our building has a sign-up for families with toddlers, so nobody has...
I have gotten four emails/ FB messages about life in Crystal City in the couple of weeks. And three the month before that. It might be because I’m such an evangelist for the neighborhood (it’s seriously underrated), but it might just be because there isn’t a ton of information out there about living in Crystal City as a Foreign Service family. Everyone who’s anyone either stays in Falls Church (folks...
Family = <3. My brother and his family drove down to DC this weekend so that we could visit museums together with the kids. When we arrived at the Air & Space Museum, we were surprised and pleased to discover that there were a ton of special activities going on to celebrate women in flight, and to encourage girls and young women to pursue careers in aviation. Awesome. Here...
I got up early this morning and went for run with a fellow FS runner (she actually IS a runner, as opposed to my shuffling and whuffling) around Teddy Roosevelt Island this morning. I repeated last week’s mistake and dragged my toddler along, which was fun, but detrimental to our plan to get a good training run in before our 5k in two weeks. So it goes. My running buddy...
What an amazing way to celebrate the Fourth. The last time I was in the States for Independence Day, I was in college. Since then, I’ve elebrated as a Peace Corps Volunteer, as an entrepreneur abroad, as a local hire at a U.S. Embassy in Cotonou, in Freetown as the GSO (logistician-in-chief), and now, back in the States as a plain-old-regular American Citizen. Lemme tell you, it is AMAZING celebrating...
One of the best things about living in Crystal City is the amazing farmer’s market. Sure, it’s for rich yuppies who have more many than sense, but I live in NoVa, so that’s basically everything here. Every Tuesday, from 3:30 to 7:30, about two dozen vendors line a shady sidewalk to hawk their wares. There are lots of organic vegetables, but also artisanal cheeses, breads, and yes, delicious pickles. Even...
I am an expat, logistician, traveler, writer, paper crafter, lover of books and coffee, and occasionally doting mother. I am occasionally foul-mouthed, not nearly as diplomatic as my professional would imply, and fiercely feminist.
Disclaimers:
The opinions expressed here on SVO are my own and do not reflect the opinions of the Department of State or the USG.
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