EC's Adventures

Thunder Snow 2011 - The Ride Home

Most of the snow that has been hitting the northeast this year has bypassed the Washington, DC  area, so when the weathermen were forecasting snow for yesterday, I thought, "Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it."  I headed off to work yesterday morning with the thought that I'd keep my eye on things and if it looked like this one would really hit us, I'd head home early.  I did just that and decided that I would head home between 3 and 3:30 so that I would be home safely before the snow started around 4:00. 

Well, it turns out that everyone who works in Tysons Corner had the same exact idea.  I pulled onto the street at exactly 3:30 only to find bumper to bumper traffic already clogging the roads.  Ever the optimist, I thought that traffic would ease up once people got onto 495, like it normally does.  What I didn't realize is that it would take me an hour to get to get to that point - a portion of the trip that normally takes about 10 minutes.  During the hour that I sat in Tysons Corner traffic, the sleet that was hitting the windshield like little pellets when I first got into the car turned into big fluffy puffs of snow.  Because I was stuck in traffic and not moving, the snow began to accumulate on my car.  I really couldn't believe how fast the snow was falling.

Traffic did clear up a bit after the 495 ramps and I found myself exiting for 66E as the lead car.  It was snowy and slick and I was a bit nervous, but glad to have the mess of Tysons behind me.  Little did I know I would have 3 more hours to go.  66E was a parking lot for miles, as everyone inched forward little by little.  It seemed to me that people were much more generous about letting cars in front of them than normal.  Even I had decided early on that my mentality would be that we are all in this together, so I would let people in front of me or whatever was needed.  (Normally, I get a little competitive about these things.)  I saw a few accidents along 66E - some that had already happened and one that happened a few cars in front of me.  In that case, one of the cars slid on the ice and hit the other car.  Even though we were slugging along at 10 MPH, the roads were slick and dangerous.  Also, in addition to pouring snow, it was thundering and lightening.  It was pretty incredible to see all of 66 light up like it did when the thunder and light came.  I don't think I have ever seen anything like that before.

At one point along the way, I was stopped in traffic under an overpass.  I took this opportunity to open my windows (driver and passenger sides) and scrape off the snow accumulating on them as well as the windshields.  I was incredibly thankful to be able to do this, because I had started to feel  a little claustrophobic with my windows covered in snow.  Plus, you know, I kind of needed to be able to see where I was going.  I briefly considered getting out of the car to wipe down my back windshield and take care of the mountain of snow on the hood of my car, but wisely decided that getting out of the car would be too dangerous, even if traffic was at a standstill.

After the Arlington exits, traffic cleared up and I found myself one of a very few drivers on the highway.  I discovered for the first time in my life that this was actually not good, but scary.  The snow was mounting up so quickly on the roads, and with no one in front of me making tracks to follow, I had visions of me slipping and sliding right off the highway.  I had to fight the urge to panic and was able to stay calm long enough to reach some other cars to follow. 

I exited from 66E onto 110 and that is when the real panic started.  The road was an incredible mess - snowy, icy, and wet.  The snow was pouring so hard I could barely see.  I felt the panic rising up in me again, tears welling in my eyes.  I wanted to stop the car and just wait it out.  At that moment, I flashed back to our ski trip last year when I went from skiing down a trail to being on the open mountain.  I freaked out so badly then, panicked at the vastness of the mountain and the thought of falling off of it, that when I fell, I could not make myself get back up. I was frozen with fear.  Realizing that I was driving a car in the worst conditions I had ever been in, I knew that I could not let the fear take over me like it did on that mountain.  I flipped the radio to a relaxing classical CD, took many deep breaths and forced myself to calm down, all while driving through piles of snow.   Just as I had regained my composure, I hit more traffic.  I have never been so happy to see tail lights in my life!  There was just enough traffic to give me comfort, but not so much that we were standing still.  Although, when I exited onto 395 heading into DC, I was once again on my own, heading up a curved ramp.  Dear Lord, I thought, please get me up this ramp in one piece.  I held on to the steering wheel with a stressed out death grip and slowly but surely made my was up that curved ramp.

The rest of the ride home was long but relatively uneventful.  I had had to go to the bathroom since about hour 1.5, so the final 45 minutes of my trip are a bit cloudy.  I was just focusing on 1) not crashing and 2) not wetting my pants in the car.  Thankfully, neither happened!

As I made my journey home, I had many thoughts.  First and foremost was how very, very glad I was that Cesar and I made it mandatory that the car we purchased  had all wheel drive.  I fell in love with my car a little bit more each time I watched another car slip and slide its way through the snowy mess or saw cars abandoned along the highways.  My other recurring thoughts were: 1) I have to pee, 2) why didn't I leave earlier, 3) I hope people at work aren't missing me, and  4) if I win a big lotto jackpot, how would I spend/invest/donate the money (that thought isn't special to this trip though - it's a regular in-the-car thought!). 

When I got home at 7:15 last night - 3 hours and 45 minutes after my journey began - Cesar's first comment to me was that I seemed very calm for the trip I had just made.  I consider that to be such a victory!  I don't ever want to have to drive through conditions like that again, but at least now I know I can do it.

Weight Watchers - Week 1 Review

I started on WW on Monday, Jan. 17.  Like everyone who starts a diet, I began the week gung-ho and excited.  Everything went well until Friday afternoon at work when I completely fell off the wagon.  I could not seem to get enough food in me and the junkier it was, the better.  I ended up 9 points in the hole by 4:00 in the afternoon.  I was so mad at myself for blowing it, especially since it was Friday and I knew I'd be going out that night.  After a little bit of beating myself up for my mistake, I decided to pick myself up and get back on the wagon.  So, when Cesar and I were out to dinner on Friday night, I made the healthiest choices I could.  We were at one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants, Johnny's on the Half Shell.  One of the things I love most at Johnny's is the fried oysters.  They are crispy on the outside, with just the right amount of batter, and warm, soft and squishy on the inside, with a light sprinkling of salt on top.  Mmmmmm!!!  But, instead of getting those, I opted for grilled squid with an arugula salad.  The squid was fantastic!  I felt it was a victory that I came back from the bad afternoon and did not let myself continue to spiral out of control that evening. So, there's that.

Then we had Saturday.  Weekends are tough for me.  Sticking to a healthy plan is so much easier when I am at work, because I pack my lunch and snacks and pretty much stick to that, unless I allow myself a visit to the vending machines, which never turns out well (see above).  But, weekends are just tough. I don't end up eating on a regular schedule or we don't have the right foods (or any food) in the house or we go out or whatever.  Well, on Saturday, I finally got to go to the Lobster Truck for a lobster roll.  Seriously, it's a food truck that sells lobster rolls.  How wonderful is that??  Well, let me tell you - it was amazing!! I got a Maine lobster roll that was filled with giant chunks of sweet, delicious lobster, with just enough mayo to dampen it, but not so much as to detract from the lobster.  YUM - I want another one right now!  Anyway, the food I had for the rest of the day ended up being a giant slice of pizza at around 5:00 pm and then half of another pizza around 1:00 am.  Not great, not great at all.  I didn't even bother to count points for Saturday.  Argh.  One thing I learned was that I need to keep my extra weekly points on hand for the weekend, instead of using them during the week, like I did last week.

I vowed to get back on track on Sunday, so I went to the store and stocked up on healthy eats.  I made a huge pot of zero point veggie soup and my favorite roasted eggplant dip.  I didn't even eat all of my points on Sunday because I was full of veggie soup! 

I weighed in on Monday morning.  I lost 1.2 pounds, which is great considering the rough days I had on Friday and Saturday.  I did great yesterday and am on track so far today.  It's a process, that's for sure.  I figure with 20 pounds to lose, this is a marathon, so I just need to keep at it.

One thing I love about WW is the eye-opening experience of tracking what I eat.  I am always amazed at how the little things build up into too many calories consumed in one day and by how seemingly OK foods can really blow my plans if I eat too much of them.  I am still really happy about the fact that fruits are zero points.  I find myself reaching for fruit or veggies instead of other stuff when I am hungry, and that's really a great habit, weight loss goals or not.

J&G Steakhouse - Restaurant Review

This week is Restaurant Week in DC.  Participating restaurants have special set menus for lunch and dinner for the set price of $20.11 and $35.11, respectively.  It's supposed to be a way to generate business at a typically slow time of the year and for restaurants to showcase their cuisine. 

Cesar and I and our friends have been big supporters of RW over the years.  We use it as an opportunity to try out new places and get a feel for whether we'd want to go back.  We've had some great RW experiences: Vidalia and Butterfield 9 come immediately to mind.  We've also had some not-so-great experiences.  Usually we go to multiple restaurants each RW, but this year chose only one due to our schedules and me starting Weight Watchers this week.  So, we were very much looking forward to our one RW night out at J&G Steakhouse last night.

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I love red meat and I planned on using all of my WW flex points to splurge on a nice steak dinner with appetizers and dessert.  Much to our dismay, we found out late in the afternoon that J&G Steakhouse was not offering steak on its RW menu.  Needless to say, we were filled with disappointment before the evening even started.  And the disappointment only got worse as the night progressed.

Cesar and I decided to valet park the car, but when we pulled up at the W Hotel, we discovered that valet parking cost $30.  Seriously?  That is effing ridiculous!!!  We decided to see if we could find street parking, which we easily did right in front of the restaurant.  So, we went from potentially paying $30 to park to parking for free in a matter of minutes.  Plus, we didn't have to give the keys to the car to a stranger, which is something that always makes me nervous.  Score one for us!

After much debate over the menu, three of us in our party of four decided to go "off piste" and order from the regular menu instead of the RW menu.  Cesar ordered the RW menu and got a butternut and mushroom soup, the short ribs, and an apple crisp dessert.  I tried each of these and they were all good.  We also ordered the calamari appetizer for the table.  I thought it was OK - a little too much breading for my taste and not enough of the tentacle parts which are my favorite.  I also split a half dozen oysters with Kevin.  I love oysters and they were the first ones I'd had in ages, so I really enjoyed that part.  For our entrees, Kevin, Michelle, and I all got the hanger steak frites.  The meat was nicely cooked to medium rare, but came out pre-cut, which I didn't like at all.  By the time I finished eating it, it was well-done and a bit cool.  I wonder if pre-cutting it had something to do with this.  But, the biggest problem with the steak was the amount of salt used on it.  The bites from the middle were tasty, but the outside pieces were very, very salty.  The steak frites were also a disappointment.  They tasted like fries that were bought in bulk from a distributor, not made in the restaurant, and there was so much season salt on them that I couldn't eat them.  I love me some fries, so for me to leave nearly all of them on my plate shows how inedible they were.  Very disappointing.  Kevin and Michelle agreed that their steaks and fries were extremely salty.  The over-use of salt became a lively topic of conversation among us for a while and many jokes were made at the expense of the chef and the kitchen. 

A few highlights of the meal were the creamed spinach with basil and the cheddar fritters.  I was skeptical about creamed spinach with basil and wasn't sure how the combo would taste.  But, it was good - not too creamy and the basil brightened the taste.  It was a nice change from the typical creamed spinach with nutmeg found in so many steakhouses.  The cheddar fritters reminded me of jalapeno poppers.  It's really hard to go wrong with fried cheese and jalapenos!

For dessert, Kevin had the grand marnier souffle, which both he and Cesar said was good.  Cesar's comment was that you could really taste the grand marnier.  I passed on trying it since I don't do booze.  I had cinnamon ice cream which came with some berries.  It was my favorite part of the meal.  The cinnamon was spicy and hot and the ice cream was cool and creamy.  It was a delicious way to end what was a really disappointing evening. 

The opinion of the group was that there are so many great steakhouses in the DC area and with such a disappointing showing at RW, we feel no need to go back and eat there again.  When we need our steak fixes, we'll head to Charlie Palmers or other places where we've had great experiences.  J&G Steakhouse really missed out on an opportunity to shine and win loyal, returning customers. 

Weight Watchers - Week 1, Day 2

Yesterday was my first day back on WW.  I did fine.  I love that fruits and most veggies have zero points, so I can load up on those and not feel too hungry.  We were supposed to go out to dinner last night, but cancelled because we needed to deal with some of the boxes in the house.  We also have dinner plans for tonight.  I decided two nights out in a row wouldn't be a great way to start off WW, so we decided to pick one instead of both.  I consider that a victory!

Today I will have two challenges.  First, I have a migraine today.  I always have more trouble sticking to healthy eating when I have migraines because when I feel crappy I want comfort food, not salad.  With that in mind, I decided to make something different for lunch.  I am having almond butter and ruhbarb jam on 2 torillas.  Even though I love peanut butter, the natural almond butter is much healthier (no trans fat, more nutrients in almonds).  I brought the rhubarb jam over from London.  I got a couple of jars of it in a French market, and it is so delicious with big chunks of rhubarb in it.  I used tortillas because we didn't have any fresh bread.  It turns out that what I thought would be a splurge of a lunch isn't too bad on the WW program.  I have entered in all of my foods for lunch and breakfast and still have 15 points to go today.  That puts me in a good position for my next challenge: eating dinner out tonight. 

We're having a restaurant week dinner at a steakhouse tonight.  I love red meat. Love it, love it, love it.  I would be the most unhappy vegetarian because I love meat so much.  So, I am pretty excited about tonight's dinner.  With restaurant week, we get a price fix menu of appetizer, main, and dessert.   I will have 15 points going into dinner plus my flex points for the week, so I think I will be fine.  I think I may just say that tonight's dinner will take up all of my flex points and my remaining points for the day to keep it easy.  Of course, that means I have to stick within my point range for the rest of the week.  I guess that's the point though - one big splurge during the week will be OK if I stay within limits for the rest of the week.  Agh.  Looks like lots of fruits and veggies for me for the rest of the week!

Weight Watchers - Week 1, Day 1

I finally decided this weekend that the food orgy I have been on since moving back to the US must end.  I gained over 20 pounds during my great 2-year European adventure.  I take full responsibility for my weight gain.  I know exactly how it happened: I ate way too much food.  I wanted to experience the foods of the various places we travelled, and I wanted to enjoy trying new things without beating myself up about it.  Then, once back in the US, I wanted to eat those things I missed the most while in Europe (Mexican food).  Well, the party is officially over now.   Our stuff arrived from the sea shipment and all of those lovely pants and jeans that used to fit but now do now are staring at me and reminding me of the excellent shape I used to be in.  It's time to make the effort to get back to a weight that is healthier for me.

I decided to join Weight Watchers, because in all of my years of dieting, following WW has been the only way I have been successful at losing weight.  I decided to do it online instead of trying to attend meetings, since I am not sure what my schedule at work will be like over the next couple of months.  I've read through the introduction materials and like the new plan so far.  The last time I did WW, I had to count points for fruits.  I always thought that was dumb.  I can assure everyone that I did not gain weight from eating too many apples and bananas.  So, I am glad they did away with that.  The points allowances are much higher in the new program.  Right now, I get 29 points a day with 49 extra for the week.  However, the points values for foods seems a bit higher, so I guess it all washes out in the end. 

I am actually looking forward to getting back to healthy eating.  I always feel so much better when I limit sugar and breads.  Sugar is like crack to me.  One little hit, and I am a wreck for the rest of the day.  All I can think about is when I can eat more sugar and what kind of tasty vessel it will come in.  I have been known to eat so much sugar that I actually feel like I am buzzing.  That cannot be good for me, especially since I am supposed to be eating low GI foods that keep my blood sugar stable to help with my chronic migraines. 

So, here we go.  Weight Watchers, Week 1, Day 1 with 20 pounds to lose.

The Choices We Make

Each morning and evening of my commute, I drive past a Bank that has its HQ near my new office, and I think about how the choices we make affect our lives in so many ways.  You see, I interviewed at that Bank in late 2006.  I remember leaving the Bank interview and telling my husband, recruiter, and family that it was my "dream job."  But, then the next day, I interviewed at a Satellite company in DC.  I was blown away by the VP of Tax there.  He was young and smart and fun, and I knew that working there would be a great opportunity.  There was also one difference between the jobs that nagged at me a bit.  At the Bank, I wouldn't be doing international tax, but at the Satellite company I would.  A little voice inside of me said that if I stayed in international tax I might get the opportunity to live abroad, which was a lifetime dream.  I ended up working at the Satellite company, and the VP of Tax was indeed one of the smartest people I have ever worked with and a great guy.  And, as readers of this blog know, I left the Satellite company to work in the London office of my current Firm. 

I can't help but think as I drive past the Bank each morning and evening how one nagging thought, one decision made, changed my life.  If I had gone to the Bank, would I ever have had the chance to live in London?  Were there layoffs at the Bank during the financial crisis and would I have been laid off?  If not, would I still be working there now?  Who knows how things would have turned out.  (I should note that while the consequences of making a different choice in this instance is an interesting philosophical exercise, it ultimately doesn't matter because I am happy with the course my life has taken since then.)

There are so many choices we make throughout our lives, so many forks in the road.  Choose this path and your life goes in this direction; choose the other path and life goes in another direction.  Each of us is the sum total of the various choices we have made in our lives.  Whether a decision was a good one or a bad one, the consequences for making it shape who we are as people,  sometimes for many years afterwards. 

Missing London

I've been back in the US for almost three weeks now.   It has been a very surreal experience moving back to DC - kind of like living in London was some long, wonderful dream or a lovely vacation and now I am back to reality. 

Getting settled after a move is never a fun or easy process, but an international move makes things a bit more complicated.  We lived in a corporate studio apartment until Sunday.  (Yes, Cesar, Max, Mia, and I were all snuggled together in a studio for a few weeks!)  The stuff we had in storage was delivered on Friday.  Before the truck came, Cesar and I could think of a few items that we knew were in storage and thought there might be couple of other items.  However, I was shocked when the truck pulled up and found out that there were 69 boxes on the truck.  69 BOXES - WTH?!?!?!  It has been interesting and sometimes funny to open up boxes and see what's inside.   (Side question for my lawyer friends:  I graduated from law school in 1998.  When is it time to throw away the binders of all of my class notes and outlines from law school?  Answer: clearly not yet)

We're still waiting for most of our stuff to arrive on a boat from London, including almost all of our furniture, dishes, linens, books, keepsakes, photos, and whatnot.  Needless to say, we're sort of camping out in the house now until everything arrives.  I actually got to see the container that it was being shipped in.  They loaded it directly from our flat.  I was fascinated by it and was taking pictures and talking to the driver, who then ever so kindly completely freaked me out about the move.  He was describing how the container gets loaded onto the boat and then said, "Yes, keep your fingers crossed that your container is in the middle of the boat."  I asked why and he said that "the containers on the end of the boat typically fall off during the trip over" and then proceeded to explain, in detail, how the containers were attached to one another and the boat and showed me the somewhat flimsy latches that are used.  When I told him that I could have gone my entire life without knowing those details, he laughed and said, "Well, it's all insured, right?"  Well, yes, but that is not the freaking point.  Our lives are in that container - every material thing we hold near and dear.  So, if you all could pause for a minute and say a prayer, send a good vibe, do a happy chant, or whatever works for you that our container is in the middle of the boat, I'd really appreciate it.  Thanks!

Overall, I have been really happy being back in DC.  It's been great to see friends again and visit familiar places.  But, there have been a few times when I really missed London.  The first happened just before Christmas.   Our corporate apartment was in Woodley Park, right by the Metro station (on the corner of Calvert and 24th).  I wanted to get some wrapping paper for Cesar's Christmas presents, soI went outside, thinking I could just walk to a nearby store to get the paper.  The CVS across the street, which by the way we have termed the most useless CVS ever, had only baby wrapping paper.  Right, because that is what is really needed 2 days before Christmas.  Anyway, much to my dismay, I had to get in the car to find Christmas paper.  I miss the days of living in London where I could walk outside and get pretty much anything I needed within a few minutes walk.  On a related note, I am very thankful for the exercise DVDs I got for Christmas, because I will otherwise not be moving very much.

Last night was the most homesick for London I have been since I've been here.  We went on a big grocery shopping trip at the Harris Teeter in Capitol Hill.  I remember when that store opened up.  It was so shiny and new and everything seemed fresh and wonderful.  Oh how I loved that place, especially in comparison to the "Un-Safe Safeway" that we used to go to on Bladensburg Road.  But, Waitrose has ruined me.  I loved our Waitrose on Finchley Road in London.  The fruit and veg section was gorgeous and huge.  The breads were fresh and tasted like they came straight from Paris.  The pastries were beautiful and made my mouth water whenever I walked by them.  Last night, at the Harris Teeter, all I could think of was how tired it looked, with its unstocked shelves, lack of options, and sad looking pre-made food. Sigh.

Also, I know I commented about this previously from the other side, but why is all the food here freakishly huge?  We bought some pears and apples that are twice the size of those in the UK.  What the heck do they do to them to make them so big?  Can they put fruit on steroids?  Also, I am frightened by the size of the chickens that create the chicken breasts here.  They must be monster chickens!!! 

And, what's with all of the high fructose corn syrup in EVERYTHING here?  Before Christmas, I picked up a package of stuffing mix and it had that in there.  In stuffing?  Really?  Why?  It should be just bread and spices.

I really enjoyed living in Europe where there seems to be much more of a focus on natural, healthy foods instead of the overly processed, full of preservatives and additives foods here. 

So, yes, it is great to be back.  But there are things I miss about London: the convenience of not having to get in the car to do everything, the fresh unprocessed foods, the city itself.

Stay tuned for a description of my new office digs.  If I am organized enough, I will post comparative pictures of the hated London office and my new sweet set-up in the burbs.