Battle of the beltway--Orioles vs the Nats!!!

Nats lost :sadface:

Alot of Baltimore Fans in the stands

Brrrr

Pic says it all

I have time to blog now.. Hello!

well the blog was dusty but I'm posting before I ht my "one year she no post anniversary" LOL

let see in the last year what's been up?

-Work: Quit my job at the big 4 much happier now.. still loving and working in infosecurity but the consultant life ay...I say this as we fedcontractor & govvies arise back from our furlough "holiday" meh...giving myself 1-2 years top I want to be working purely in the commercial work. My dream job is amazon.com which is in the DC Area trust I will get a job there!! 

-NBA season soon: still playing fantasy basketball and venting about my Wizards. I guess my  Lakers are gonna suck this year.. RIP Dr. Buss we are in turmoil

-Weight Loss: Not only have I kept my weight off from my highest weight ever to know I'm down a smooth 70 lbs.. but since late 2011 I've lost about 50 lbs.. amazing seriously. I'm down from 16/18 to 12.. I've never been this small EVER (as an adult). Yes the veganism helps but the exercise and the no car life in DC helps. I can now bike to work with my new job and I still walk everywhere. 

-Half Marathon: Ran the inaugural Washington DC NIKE HalfMarathon in April:  Again my old coworkers were the ones behind me getting in shape they run the marine corps, army 10 miler all the popular races so they were like leave that 5k baby stuff behind and go for the gold. Jogging is still growing on me but all winter I did my lil runs around the city..and ran (& WALKED ALOT)  that joint in about 3 hours. 

Let me tell you the next day this 31 year old body was in PAIN like slow walk pain LOL. What was most embarrassing my cowoker >50 did the race she was fine the next day. Horrible..my training was bad I did not get enough long runs (>.10miles) in so I shocked my body but damit I made it through the finish line and I would love to run this race again. 

-Current Obsessions:
Technology, Technology, Technology - Before I get into this let me stamp that I've been a gadget junkie since a kid. Seriously  in my only child world I was always an executive (cappy trait) LOL I had a filofax organizer as a kid, my family laced me with all gadgets the 1st was the almighty casio electronic organizer

and yes I had the ORIGINAL Palm Pilot during my last year of middle school.. 1st computer by 1995.  My senior year of high school I was interning at our town's only internet service provider.. so again STAMPED geeked from the 90s baby LOL

Anyway I'm loving this era we are in.. coding/development is cool, gadgets are a plenty the internet has soo much for learning/growing. Social media overload - I've calmed down with twitter (got old), IG i like and FB will always be there but I do take SM breaks time to time-- its soo easy to get caught up.

Given my maturation as IT chick- tech is fun but I realize to make it you have to tie to business value. So tech strategy blogs/articles are my new thing. I'm sooo sad to see how Blackberry has faltered but I enjoy reading and watching the OS/Phone/Internet/Startup wars that are going on these days

My current tech portfolio: Phones I have 2 LOL - my main line is blackberry - I'm sorry and i did try but i need a physical keyboard ..i just do. My 2nd phone is Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (rooted) with Sprint (unlimited data) it serves as my modem to keep my ipad computer and friends gadgets online when we are in a pinch lol. Basic dell laptop, my old kindle DX (great for reading). I plan to build a badazz PC next year to help serve for virtualization testing and I do want a MBP.

Juicing: Move over vitamix j/k green smoothies 4 life but my treat to getting a new job in August was the purchase of an Omega Juicer - Love Love Love green juice .. working my way up mentally to do a juice fast one day

Apple: not the fruit...so I am an Android fangirl however when my job gave me the iphone last year; life changed LOL. I was able to understand the apple fan'ism the phone was simple too simple but easy to use and practical. Coupled with the fact that apps still goto iOS first I've purchased the 64GB - Retina ipad and that joint is my baby! I do want a macbook (eventually) but that $$$$$$$ Apple is overrated but its a lifestyle and those purchasing financially are capable hence the extraordinary sales.

Shopping: Not so much these days LOL...one I had to take a hiatus during the weight loss as my clothing size was all over the place so if It wasn't coming from a target sale rack - I did not buy. Major progress as many many people reminded me that I wouldn't be caught dead in target clothes a few years ago LOL. I have not purchased a designer bag in almost 2 year. that's all I gotta say about this topic people can change. Don't get it twisted the capricorn in me still love nice high end things but I'm learning how to be more financially responsible and purchase things not so spontaneous. 

Welp that's its folks.. I'm hoping seriously to blog more and I want to migrate this blog to my own domain as I've learned how to manage wordpress sites..well see LOL

happy labor day

What up peeps.. up early moms in town and I took her to Eastern Market. Besides being addicted to yellow peaches I wanted her stamp on the produce & products I've been buying all summer. Granted nothing in the DC Area will compare to Eastern Shore she def said the quality was great and the prices ehh lol just a lil bit higher than back home.

I'm back on a Earthy Kick LOL...picked up 2 new plants - Parsley & Cilantro.
The parsley wilted like a mofo and I just re-potted the cilantro so I hope they both perk up.

My garden just about complete except I need 1 more plant thyme. Hopefully we get a few more weeks of warmth and sunshine than I will start transitioning everything inside.


Conducting a Milk off:
I know yall like uhh your vegan why are you drinking milk lol... well not to go into a long rant but I stated hate for soy milk however DR diagnosed me with vitamin D deficiency - so research says Soy helps with that issue. Well I finally understand why hardcore veggie folks avoid soy- bottom line its a Genetically Modified Object (GMO) even the organic. Its recommended that humans only consume fermented soy (miso, tempeh, seitan) OCCASIONALLY! I'm not gonna life I loves my tofu in my asian food and tempeh bacon :0 YUM! so its going to be hard but my goal is to try and put that healthiest +purest foods into my system so dueces to Soy.
So I'm researching alternative milks that are high in Vitamin D for my health condition and for something else that I'll explain in a bit.. now onto the contestants"

most of these "milks" I got the unsweetened version or if I was scared the taste would be "out there" I purchased the vanilla flavor


1. Rice Milk- I've always drank very sweet..
2. Almond Milk- I hated it in the past.. funky aftertaste still on the fence
3. Coconut Milk- yumm goes into my smoothies
4. Sunflower Milk- LOLOL haven't opened this yet - no idea what to expect
5. Hemp Milk- LOLOL ^^^^
6. Oat Milk - "same deal as ^^^"








Vitamix:

Dear QVC I hate you! Sike well I've heard about the VitaMix blender from watching youtubes on green smoothie. This blender is like the bently of blenders in the veggie/raw foods world.

To define a green smoothie: A regular fruit smoothie with some type of green- Kale, spinach, Collards etc. This culture stems from the book "Greens for Life" which I already blogged about here.

So this blender is supposed to the greatest bc it will blend anything (I've seen vids where folks throw whole avocados in there smoothie pit + all). If you blend things long enough it warms up the product, makes soups, ice cream so its pretty versatile. For the dough I'm like this joint better turn my kitchen into Smoothie King. I upgraded to kitchen aid blender but I will admit that berries & flax seeds still give me a grainy smoothie. I've made a few green smoothies w/ the vitamix while I'm not blown away, my smoothies def are SMOOTH.

Given the 5 easy payments lol I don't feel the hurt of paying for this blender all at once so I will keep as it fits in with my goal of continuing to be a healthy mofo. I realized that I suck as a vegan.. lk in the last few weeks I've gone to more Yoga and exercised more bc I cannot keep eating so well and not exercise. I might as well go back to eating meat if I'm going to dogg my body out like that. So besides this blender, more exercise me and another homey in the city are splitting a CSA membership.

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture):

Some folks call these farm clubs but pretty much its a way to get local produced delivered.
We went with Washington Green Grocer subscription. Kinda nicked says small box 12-18 lbs LOL. Right now I'm all about hitting up the farmers market but this will be so handy come fall/winter. The first order should come tomorrow here's a sample listing of what should be delivered:

• Sweet Corn PA
• Eggplant PA
• Grape/Cherry Tomatoes PA
• Yellow Squash PA
• Red Leaf/Romaine Lettuce CA
• Delicata Squash PA
• White Mushrooms PA
• Golden Supreme Apples (IPM from PA)
• Peaches (IPM/Food Alliance Certified from PA)
• Red Seedless Grapes CA
• Ruby Red Grapefruit FL
• Bananas S.A.

Welp peeps I'm about to go a bike ride in.. forecast says more rain coming.

Enjoy the holiday folks :)

Earthquake & Part 2 + hurricanes - OH MY!

sERIOUSLY!
this week was not fun. I work in a community of high rise bldgs and the quake shook me up!
I liken the feeling to airplane turbulence except when one walking into an airplane you kinda know hey! this plane could go down so for a building to shake and sway when its assumed to be rigid is scary. As a east coaster my office didn't know what to do some hid under their desks.. others took to the doorway. Me I stood up holding my desk in disbelief that an earthquake was occurring while the building was swaying. Emergency preparedness education is key. Cell phone service was blocked.. couldn't get on-line it really makes you think about communication backup. Seriously after 3 hour drive home > I reallllly had to count my blessing and be thankful. Not that I ever took the Cali or Asia quakes & 9-11 lightly but experiencing a small disaster gives you perspective to how those in a major disaster had to cope.

I'm typing this as light rain has began to fall as we prepare for Hurrican Irene. Man I'm about to move to Seattle with my family because the Maryland/DC Area should not be exp this much weather turbulence - no way! I'm most concerned about my family on the Eastern Shore as they are going to get the brunt of the storm not to mention all the low lying streets and bay run-offs.. alot of evacuations planned.

Given the wind DC schedule to receive I bought my lil herbal garden inside
Its been fun this summer started w/ an eastern market box of Dill, Basil, Thyme, Marojam, Oregano Sage and Parsley...Growing up on the eastern shore we used to plant flowers. my great aunt had a small vege garden and my mom grew tomato plants upside our apt for years- so I felt my thumb was pretty green. Hmm well after I repotted everything.. the dill died, the thyme singed and burned during the heat wave.. the parsley went MIA.. I still can't tell the difference btw Marajam & Oregano but that is still growing along with the Sage. I just scanned through my recent blog posts and I see the one I started on my 1st basil plant never made it out of draft. To give you all some history I got that plant back in April from Mom's Organic Market. Basil just keep it outside (sunny) + water it grows like a weed. One of my coworkers took pity on my failed attempts and bought me in a pot of Sage, Thyme, and ohlala Purple Basil.

So just to bring ya'll to my current roster:


More Pics here

• 3 instances of Sage- wayyy too much and Sage is used w/ meats (ugh) trying find a way to get rid of
• Thyme- i spritz w/ water seems brown & dried again even though I did not keep outside :(
• Regular Basil- my all star plant
• Purple Basil- one instance died the other doing well so cannot wait to try
• Peppermint- growing well gonna use in my tea and rice paper wraps
• Rosemary- growing well
• Oregano - growing well

I'm actually gonna use the time barricaded in this APT to work on harvesting and drying herbs esp my basil plant is LEANING - lmao because the leaves are so heavy

I'm planning to continue my garden over the winter so I can make lots of fresh veggie stock so I'm researching how to transition the plants inside.


Everyone on eastcoast be safe this weekend!!

news & views on current technology

what up peeps...bloggin live from the new home.. still renting but moved to Washington DC. Finally moved after talking about it for years.. #1 commute has been very draining.. working in VA - 9 yrs strong

I've finally stepped into cool phone land and divorced Verizon in the process..
newly minted sprint customer w/ an Android Device - Evo Shift - couldn't let go of my keyboard but other than me being a anti-touch screen chick and the nuances that come with it.. the phone is pretty vicious. The android app store def lacks the hollywood apps of Apple but is still very comparable in inventory.

Right now I have the Evo Shift, and 2 BB for work - one including the BB torch.

Today's post is a rant on RIM..inspired by these article in WAPO -"For federal workers, BlackBerry slips as device of choice" & Federal government loosens its grip on the BlackBerry

First let me highlight some other articles who are on the same page of me:

PlayBlackBerry bruised by rivals

4 ways for BlackBerry to stay alive

I lovvvvvvvvvvvvveee my blackberry no doubt.. it gets the job DONE no bells & whistles. BEST EMAIL MGMT EVER!

I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee BBM - though my buddy list is dwindling BUT my first choice of messaging through & through.

I guess im becoming a late apple fan girl not for the cool gadgets but one of my favorites magazines Fortune is exposing me the BUSINESS side of the world - (super weakness for a g33ky gal like myself and being exposed even further working at "big4" /end rant) but you have to admire whats under the hood at a company that was hot in 80s.. cool in 90s and than took off..
respect to Jobs + his mgmt style.

I got caught up w/ the cool app life with my ipod touch..all still while loving my blackberry but I knew times were changing one morning the alarm on the BB was going OFF.. and I'm pressing the screen like mad only to realize hello.. no touch screen LOL!

So that brought me to a point in which I knew after my move I was going to switch my personal phone to Android...I like Iphone but the lack of physical keyboard was a deal-breaker PLUS too redundant to my Itouch.

Sprint had a special $125 credit for switching over.. said good-bye Verizon. That's another future Rant.. I never truly minded paying for the expensive service of VZW however in the last 1 yr myself and one of my homegirls admitted service has not been so peachy aka most dropped calls ever in span of being customer for almost 10 yrs. Given the 3/4G and stability of the other wireless carriers and for the most part I frequent metropolitan areas with good service - I could risk leaving VZW. #1 I was astounded that for 60$ I get unlimited everything .. like I had to keep asking the customer service representative how much was the data? the txt package? She kept reminding me 60$ = all in one LOL

So far given my new bldg cell coverage sucks in general.. I can see where Verizon outside is better.. but Sprint inside works in places I would never get VZW service. Big minus I miss being able to have pretty decent reception in metro- Sprint = total fail.

Ok ok back to my RIM rant-
pretty much RIM is the mobile MS, meaning you had the game on lock but dude check the rear view- your company is flailing..
-OS6 sucked.. like I cannot stand that wack frequent/all/favorite menu system- the thought process was there delivery not so smooth
+Webbrowser is improved but not the true to PC exp like one gets on safari or android
-App store- how about me and paypal aren't in a relationship anymore.. well no paypal = no appstore acess AT ALL- blew me to the worlds end!
+BB Torch very solid much better blend of touch & traditional than Storm

I don't have to keep nitpicking but bottomline RIM just released another weak product (BB Playbook) just google the review..I think it may have more software now but I know it shipped with no email or browser access //like wtf//

Rim needs to realize they need to OVERHAUL their OS or keep faith in this QNX acquisition. I'm no SME but basically QNX is an emulator and RIM has been selling the fact android software can work on the Playbook via QNX...so that's cool to have BBM/BB stuff & cool droid apps but that's admitting some defeat by deferring to another OS granted its somewhat embedded - not the strongest move.

What will kill Rim and seriously I see you Jobs.. I get it.. have everyone embrace your gadgets & computing devices.. rock with your own OS (iOS) your own internal services (mobile me)..shake, stir and ascend to the next level. As announced at WWDC apple has merged a whole mix of things and embraced the cloud (gag- me not a fan of cloud computing- another post).. recap below (wapo)

As one of the core new features highlighted today in iOS 5, iMessages has one purpose: to kill SMS. That is, traditional carrier-controlled text messages. iMessages will do this by replacing SMS with a service that Apple is in control of across all of their iOS devices. And here’s the real death blow: iMessages will be completely free.

Sure, you can argue that iMessages is limited due to the iOS requirement. But as Apple announced today, there are over 200 million iOS devices out there now. That’s a lot. Like Blackberry Messenger before it, Apple now has the strength to create their own device-to-device messaging application. And that’s exactly what they’ve done. And considering what a colossal rip-off SMS is, I can’t help but love this move. It’s exactly what I’ve been waiting for

"iCloud stores your content in the cloud and wirelessly pushes it to all your device. It automatically uploads it, stores it, and pushes it to all your devices." And by "automatically," he means it: in addition to every day content, such as purchased music, iBooks, photos and videos, device settings, and app data that will be automatically backed up over WiFi, Documents in the Cloud will effortlessly sync Pages, Numbers, and Keynote data between all of your iOS devices.

I'd def would embrace and hopefully SOON will embrace once I get an Ipad...my beef w/ cloud -C is.. it is what you put into it.. don't be mad if your world is stolen by hackers but for a person who knows what to keep on-line I have no beef w/ trying this new apple services and trust if you had a Macbook, Ipad, Iphone.. this will make your life simpler and people are gonna eat it up and Apple will get more business. Trust that i-messenger .. What do I need a blackerry for again?

Other than email and honestly Microsoft (wake up) should try making their new win 7 phones use the power of outlook to gain corporate email shares over RIM. Again I can only speak with a DoD voice.. and given the Ipad STIG was pulled LOL.. idk when or how we can say yes to iphone/tablets/android etc on sensitive networks. Trust right now one of my systems is mobile project the old school win ce.net phones - like security holes out the wazoo but we are stuck with using it bc - no "approved" DoD replacement.. but that's a rant on security in form of checkboxes (yet another future blog post)

anyway enufff ranting.. let me get to some fun stuff in my life than I must try get rest.

my move: woot! I never knew why but when I was 14 about the time my mom shot down my dreams with the whole I'm not paying for Howard University.. the ONLY time I give my mother full credit.. sorry HU peeps UMCP >>> HU (costs less & degree just as good if not better) heheh
but I faked, got cold feet.. at the end of the day I'm a small town country girl DC seemed overwhelming & expensive. But seriously the move has been great so far.. I'm broke as heck lol paying this fake Manhattan rent but the goal was to improve the work/life balance.

other stuff:
like people think IT folks be on the ish.. i know i be tired.. like the PCs in my home aren't fly flashy.. seriously they are patchwork jobs overloaded w/ RAM. I bring this up bc I went to my main site to search. I swore I had posted about my basil plant.. wholetime - why do I NOT have a search button on my blog - LMAO - terrible. My blog is stuck in the 90s LMAO! Imma try peeps to upgrade to wordpress & migrate to my own domain- maybe by end of summer or 2011- meanwhile I'll try make some cosmetic upgrades to "blogspot"

new obsession :Keriug Kcups machine- supply of the energy for this post. Blame QVC & 3 easy payments LOL.. its a nice machine w/ a huge variety of refills plus at the end of the day.. anything that takes away the urge to spend 5$+ at Starbucks = FTW

basil:

forgive me I believe the plant before & after growth pics are in the old BB - sorry.. all I have is the harvesting of the plant..not gonna fake it was SCARY to say like ok I can pluck this and throw it into my food LMAO.. but after much research apparently that's what you do.
So I ripped up 3 leaves tossed into this marinade I was making - fresh lemon juice, ginger, garlic & red wine vinny- WOW like it taste so Italian-y lol meaning that fresh basil made it POP.. delish. Next plants I want to grow : thyme, mint








bedtime peeps

tea tour continues

Sat - DC has a taste of spring.. which closed up quickly because Sunday I awake (cold) and it was rainy and cloudy :(

Sux because I've finally upgraded my bike (thanks to my job and their 500% health subsidy) to an entry level pro hybrid. Its an REI special aka purple lightening.. not the vicious cannondale I desired but hey.. I've taken it out twice and it already drives/feels 9million times better than my target special

ok back to Saturday went on a Georgetown walking tour with my tea meet up group.
We visited:
Cha Cha Chang
DC Tea & Spice Exchange
Capital Teas

1. Cha Cha Chang -1063 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W

I've shopped here many many years - they sell the best empy tea bags ever. Its small very very traditional tea house but this time I finally was able to sit down enjoy tea and eat.
I ordered veggie dumplings and broke down got $20 pot of my #1 fav tea ti kuan yin (oolong).

Our group learned a traditional way to enjoy tea via the assemble to the left.
Not pictured but we had a reg kettle filled with hot water
(working off memory here but description about 80% accurate)

1. take hot water and pour into brown(clay) pot that has the tea leaves
2. you always want to discard the 1st brew --> goes into the bigger white/blue pitcher
3. take the discard pour into middle cup
3. take the discard and pour on outside of brown teapot

(2&3 are supposed to keep the pot and cups warm- something like that )

4. hot water poured into clay pot (let steep about 60 secs)
5. pour brewed tea into white/blue pitcher
6. serve in the small cup (bottom right)

repeat

What I most enjoyed what the heavy clay teapot and holder like of course you spilling water everwhere and the bottom part catches everything. Clay pots rock so heavy and unlike ceramics require no soap & water bc chemicals eventually steep into the liquid.

2. DC Tea & Spice Exchange
Small shop in a rowhouse... def worth visiting if you want to check out custom spice blends. Customer service wasn't all that and the Alexandira location is bigger. The tea selection is so-so - I wouldn't necessary be pressed to come here often. Coolest thing was the salt blocks for sale LOL

3. Capital Teas- I've blogged about them already but man these folks keep opening more and more DC stores.. this was my first time visiting the gtown location. The store is in an alley but
same selection as the National Harbor store. Great customer service- and I had to shout these guys out bc after becoming a facebook fan I won a free giveaway- Royal Wedding Tea

A commemorative union of our bold Cream Earl Grey Black and our light and refreshing Cream Earl Grey White, enhanced with the essence of roses. Available for a limited time only. Price is per 4 oz.

I have not sampeled yet- I'm not a big fan of flavored teas but just happy to have won something. DC be on the look out for these guys to overtake Teaism they have 2 more store opening planned Friendship Heights and another NW location.

Weekend Recap

hewwo peeps....

tired and busy.. went out to U st the last 3 Fridays in a row up till 5am.. im 29 body is old LOL

Friday night attended the Kem/Ledisi and Mint Condition show at DAR Constitution Hall
Being lazy and not up for the 10-15 min walk from Farragut North/West metro I drove and didn't even leave my spot until 730 show started at 8 and oddly it started on time LOL
so I missed Ledisi who they only gave her about 20 mins bc Mint Condition came on 830 I got there about 845 so I was able to see some of the best R&B band of my era!

Kem came out very dapper gray suit hat.. slim and short dude. He sung a variety of songs from each cd and genuinely sounded just like his cd very strong voice.


---

I'm geeked off a new tea shop I found down that National Harbor in Maryland.
Capital Teas - the shop was small but I loved the wall of tea. The tea was held in glass jars for customers to smell. I purchased the basic 2oz (minimum) of Basil/Lemon Oolong [can we say perfect with an Italian dinner] & Stimulating Herbal Tea - it is an intense blend of ginger roots, cardamom, coriander, tumeric, cloves and nutmeg. I could not help myself I brewed a halfcup of the herbal tea tonight and OMG - u know anything w/ ginger is spicy-yum but the other herbs heighten the senses to a new level - I LOVE THIS TEA!

Also after a long convo with my tea twin at work.. I invested in a measuring spoon to help with ensuring my tea purchases last- ex 4oz of tea should yield 20+ cups.. me scooping a pinch of tea each morning LOL kills the ratio and now that I'm on a tight budget (explain lata) plus honestly adhering to proper temperature, quantity makes for a better cuppa...I'm slowly getting there.




Anyway about to finish watching my FAVORITE show Chopped (All-Stars) than going bed TIRED

back 2 back blogs... FTW!

as promised...let me jump right in because its Sunday night need to start getting mentally prepared for the M-F 9-5 grind. My new job...lets just say its with one of the "big 4" Audit firms in the US. I was hired as a Sr. Info Security Consultant lol sooo different from my normal title of Defense Contractor. I'm learning everything at the Big4 is different one all these audit/financial things mixed into EVERYTHING its weird in a we aren't in Kansas anymore way lol. I have so many compliance courses to take. At my old gig I barely had any corporate side taskers outside of annual evaluation. My job is still with the DoD family working in support of Military Healthcare which is such a blessing like in this time of a 'recession' I'm working in 3 fields heavily supported by government funds: Defense, Cybersecurity & Healthcare. I need to milk it for all its worth things can change so quickly. I'm still learning the ropes but being a 'consultant' is funny I do work but mainly I instruct others on what to do and I make sure they do it not in a managerial way but I''m 'overseeing' the end to end processes... blah.. lol
One thing about these Big4 is they are heavy players in the commercial world and good way for me to get on that side of the house (away from DoD) and maybe do so more traveling.
I'm only into month one so there will be more to report as I continue to get acclimated but IM HAPPY and do not miss my old project, agency or coworkers (minus a few folks).

my Kindle DX...SWOOOON



trust I had been eying ebooks readers for a minutes as talked about in several posts here. Since I'm older & wiser now LOL I don't like buying 1st generation or even 2nd electronics because new ones come out so fast example: Apple Ipods. However yes I sure did want to treat myself since one I def worked hard for this new job but with the Ipad release on the horizon I was scared Amazon would drop the price of the DX and I'd be short over paying. That's the risk you have to take but technically the KDX is the 3rd gen of Kindles and Im sure they are working on a K3 prototype you just can't win with technology.
I bought this device so that I wouldn't have to carry around 500pg+ technical books and let me say the reader does a great job of taking my tech pdf and displaying them on the screen. When I unboxed the Kindle it was even scary for me I kept touching the screen staring at the e-ink like eww weird lol. I love my device on the low low Amazon.com is my favorite website so the integration btw the site and the device is beautiful. The FREE 3g network built into the device is cool I don't play the net heavy on the KDX but its good to know I can wiki or tweet even check my gmail just incase my blackberry, comcast or whatever network is offline. I have been reading alot and slowly trying to get back into CISSP study mode...

Last topic I stopped into wholefoods (WF) in DC last week off the random.. yall know I do not mess with that expensive store. I stick to shopping at my main market which I fully endorse MOMs organic Market. I can't deny that WF selection of goods is impressive. I'm always on the search for a good rawfood/vegan bar so I went a lil crazy in there picked up 6 bars lol for reviewing.


LOL they are all Spirulina (basically algae) based.. don't get weirded out.. any green food mixed with the right amount of fruit & sweetness cancels out the seaweed taste you think the bars would have. Give me some time to digest and access but I'll have some comments soon..

The Meaning of Tea- Review

a lil incentive to get me to dust off my blog a le bit more often .... thanks (again) to twitter in conjunction with meetup.com. I won another free ticket to a lovely event hosted by the DC Asia Society around Dupont Circle. Here's the PR blurb

Alexis Siemons at The Meaning Of Tea, Director of Marketing & PR [masked] (New York City, NY) – March, 2010- Asia Society Washington invites members and guests to a tea tasting and D.C. area premiere screening of the lyrical documentary, The Meaning Of Tea. Filmmaker and Director of The Meaning of Tea project, Scott Chamberlin Hoyt, will be introducing the film, in addition to signing books and sharing a few of his favoriteteas during the tea tasting reception.

The Meaning of Tea is a 74-minute documentary film exploring the calm and purposeful nature of tea life. It is an ongoing, tea-inspired journey that celebrates the history, rituals, spirituality and simple, pure enjoyment of tea through the eyes of tea lovers in places where tea is revered-from India to Ireland, from Taiwan to Japan, from Tea, South Dakota in the USA to Morocco, England and France.

Through inspiring interviews with people from all over the world of tea - tea pickers and plantation owners, street sellers, raders, teapot makers, tea tasters and eloquent tea scholars - The Meaning of Tea film explores the profoundly positive role that tea can play in the renewal of our modern world. The Meaning of Tea is also accompanied by a companion book and a CD of the film's original tea-inspired music. Each one explores the underlying sentiment of tea.

Following a sold-out screening and tea tasting at the Asia Society in New York, The Meaning Of Tea is thrilled to offer its second screening hosted by the Asia Society Washington D.C. during the National Cherry Blossom Festival. This stimulating series of events coincides with the Asia Society’s online discussion that asks, are tea rituals still relevant today?

Along with this online discussion, Scott Chamberlin Hoyt hopes to carry on the conversation as he continues to blog, tweet and
tour the nation offering exclusive screenings that inspire us all to seek out a deeper meaning of tea.

Scott Chamberlin Hoyt is a filmmaker, photographer, painter, budding tea connoisseur and director of The Meaning of Tea project. His longtime interest in tea increased when he began studying various alternatives to orthodox modern medicine and learned that tea, and the enjoyment of tea, is one of the cornerstones of living life well. His perspective is augmented by years of world travel, and deepened by decades of exploration into Eastern thought. Scott is on the board of directors for Global Learning Across Borders, a member of the Directors Circle for the American Botanical Council, and he is President of the Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York. He holds a BS in Business Administration and an MBA from New York University.

Asia Society Washington, Asia Society established its office in Washington, DC in 1985 to provide a forum in the nation's capital for diplomats, members of Congress, government officials, journalists,scholars, artists, business executives, and other interested individuals to exchange views on a wide variety of subjects concerning Asia and the increasingly important US-Asian relationship. From Iran to Japan, from Central Asia to New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, Asia Society programs inWashington look at contemporary issues and the cultural context of the Asian region as well as the implications of future trends. Our programs are designed to address major issues and discuss recent events with key U.S. and Asian practitioners to promote a greater awareness about Asia in the Washington community."

When I arrived, I knew I was gonna be in for a good time. I walked in and saw a few people sipping from the Ultimate Tea Cup easily had from Teaism. What makes this cup great is its sectioned off the hot water & loose tea.. brews & no mixing, no spitting out leaves and the outside does not get hot after you add water lol.

They had a few tables set up for the slight tea tasting..I got this organic herbal blend called Rejuvenation..yummm so minty and refreshing. I also saw jasmine green, an oolong and I believe a black tea available for tasting. The set up for the screening was pretty basic; big room with table & chairs. I was ultra nervous, rolling solo and not knowing anyone but I learned a tea lover is a tea lover regardless of race,creed or status. Besides the wealth of information shared I think the bonding also made this a great experience. Unfortunately although we probably watched about 45mins of the DVD it was skipping chapters so we missed out on alot of content. The DVD was filmed at several areas in the world known for tea (e.g China, Japan, India, England) the premise was give some insights on the tea manufacturing process (growing, picking, tasting, packaging) as well as show how this beverage is more than a drink but a cultural statement to others. I don't want to give too many spoilers but some interesting things I noted:

-tea tasters- taste 2k cups of tea a week.. crazy!

-to hold the tea cup with your palm facing in = good manners

-most "real (non lipton lol) " teas are handpicked.. automation has no occurred- surprising to me.. I just assumed technology had automated 1/2 the things in the living world . Obviously alot of tea farms believe keeping the process as natural and historic as possible to preserve taste and reputation. One scene that stuck out to me was a tea co. that had the tea leaf & ladybug as their logo. The farm manager believed firmly in no pesticides and letting nature intermingle.

-Good tea stays in your heart- so tru .. I only have 2 teas on my list that I can stamp as the BEST EVER lol (Pearl Tea Monkey picked oolong & Teaism World Peace tisane). The rare Gyoruko I got from Germany good reviews online but it tastes like regular green tea to me I've only brewed the lil I have twice but I also picked up some brewing tips last night so I will try the Gyo again soon.

enough rambling.. I need to wrap this entry up and finish my work day. Coincidentally I'm going to a women's tea talk afterwork sponsored by my NEW JOB!!

I have another blog entry coming soon (me promise) to talk about the new gig & ..................... my kindle DX (took that plunge) LOL

& let there be snow...

my goodness... Maryland has turned into Antarctica or something like we just finished getting our 2nd blizzard of the year. This recent storm was at least 2 feet of snow..cars covered and what not, metro shut down!
Like here's' a pic





my car is the blob on the far left

love it!

Goodbye 2009

Hello..yes we are at end the year- midway through the glamorous season of capricorn (yes I turned 28 uhh a week ago lol)

I have been MIA just not in the best place..oddly enough i'm aggressively (on some days) job hunting.. just tired of being overworked.. and I've been brooding at my life progress.. and no this post isn't going to turn into a #whatineedtochangefor2010 post (sorry for the twitter lingo lol).

I just want my (few) blog fans to know that I appreciate the support but the sporadic posting will continue until I get some order in my life.

& yall know cappys need order and structure so i will right this ship soon :)

Nay to the Redskins and Wizards= DC sports slum..

Lets see what else going in my life .. oh yeah read this good book (also bought 2 copies as gifts)
Like me and the bff obsess over her style and i swoon even more know that i know Mrs. O is tall (5'10+) like myself i notice she keeps to the min heels (she <3 Choos lol) .. which is cool I hate towering over everyone. The book does a great job of giving background history on some of Michelle outfit choices. Personally I will continue to acknowledge her as the diva but I need to mimic her moves in terms of education and business saavy as well. Went to the Kennedy Center few weeks back free ticket with coworker went to see Handel Messiah. I'm pretty cultured but I had no idea what to expect for this show lol was a lil nervous. Def cool a mix of opera, choir & orchestra lol
*cam phone pic *

Attended the 31st Logan Circle House Tour- pics
I have a new love for fireplaces and of course my folks living in NW are living large- a mix of traditional row homes & modern condos in the photos- enjoy!

Loggin off gonna make my way to church tonight.. bring my 2010 in prayfully with the Lord.
Yall be safe & easy

the love affair continues

with MAC

wooo me and lets call her lil caplady aka my shopping buddy lol went up to pentagon city 2 weeks ago for lunch and of course we did a lil shopping lol. Went to MAC to look around and the sales lady was giving us a preview of the new style black line and she asked if we wanted to get on the list for a free make over the following friday lol who's gonna say no to that. So Friday she and I went up there got our make over and end up spending $60 bucks lol we each got 2 eye shadows & 1 lip glass. The Style Black collection is amazing SOooo perfect for winter dark themes, grays & black shades. Its very extreme black lips black eyes black nails.

Me and lil caplady both jumped out there, she got the jet black lip glass omg its like tar on your lips but they advise you mix it with reds & pinks and it will darken it up. I got a demo of this, the lady put cherry red lipstick on me and took the black lipglass over it; turned into a deep burgundy lol. Too bold for my personality so I got the lip glass with the gray/purple hues.

I also got some more makeup (going crazy right) shipped to me this week. Tried this new brand [Coastal Scents] based on a lot of good feedback online and personal recommendation from a friend. They have several different 88 pallets & I finally upgraded my brush set. Trust granted the kit was only 30$ its wayyy better than what I'm using now LOL. Reviews to come later...

On the music tip I have to speak on the state of 2009 Female R&B singers. I recently just got put on to Letoya Luckett lol remember her the chick from Destiny Child she had the hit torn. Basically I didn't dislike her but she didn't really impress me. My friend was cising her cd on facebook like everyday so finally I gave it a listen. I was blown away like this joint rocks!! So here how it stands Best cds: Beyonce > Letoya > Keyshia Coles > Keri Hilson . Either way Im happy I swoon for female R&B/pop.

not dead yet- The September Issue

Ok I guess the reality is I divorced my blog for twitter , sike nah I will be back in f/t capacity soon.. all I can say

Meanwhile via http://www.projectbeltway.com/ I won 2 free passes to this screening tonight in Georgetown

where i'll be Thursday

if you don't know who Teedra Moses is yet.. I suggest you 'google' here and GET FAMILIAR!

just saying wzup

no I haven't been igg'n the readers.. just been ultra busy again idk where my time goes between the 40-50 hrs at work, hanging with my friends and me-time- keeps the days rolling

cooling out to this VH1 Soul Eykah Badu concert- she is so great live .. esp when she rocks out with the Roots which is usually the case.

I'm up here doing my normal thing working on a broken laptop (Compaq/HP) no surprise there LOL gave up trying to remove the viruses joint crashed too much- doing a full reformat reload of windows XP.

Lets see I don't have a list of topics like normal.. I hope you all have been enjoying the twitter updates put you right in mix of the day to day action of caplady LOL.

Last weekend I went to the circus with my lil god-son, hadn't been to circus I'm guessing since I was a wee-girl. It was fun but expensive time animals were cute! Porkupine, lions, horses, Elephants lil dude payed attention about 70% which is great for a 2yr old. Went uptown DC afterwards got that man his first peice of DC local gear from Universal Madness.
His mama already know he not going be dressed like VA bamma (no offense to my 703 friends) when he's out in PG with me LOL.

Week before that I visited a wine bar for happy hour in my favorite part of DC- UPtown NW..Vinoteca

The place was great.. happy hour was not overly packed, dinner was good. I don't consider myself a wine head but my friends made me sip and I ended up liking the Merlot (red wine).. def want to go back there and try some more wines.

I'm working on my travel orders for Europe- Germany; love the fact job is exposing me to international travel more on the trip as it unfolds.
Can't believe spring is here (in theory not in temperature lol) working on LA trip 4th of July weekend with my besti that would ROCK..I just wanna visit the shops on Rodeo Drive.

Welp let me go finish up my work watch a lil NBA action..

Holla

last day of vacation/thoughts on Innaguration

First of all no disrespect to the out of towners but I'll be happy to have the city back to normal... I only went out to the city one time Monday evening to meet the Seattle side of my family for dinner. Man downtown was lunching even the regular spots was off they most VIP we couldn't even get into Hardrock cafe.. so after being denied access to some spots we said eff it went to COSI. Worked out great because they don't have COSI on the west coast.. and I love the shop, a lil expensive but tasty. The train ride downtown started off scary because it was a HUGE line outside Greenbelt Metro but me being me went around snuck in, and that's when I realized all those bammas were lined up for farecards. Of course closer we got to downtown more it got packed but jeez it was like summer tourist overload.. so many questions and folks taking pics on metro.

A few of my girls braved DC this AM.. me since I was "teleworking" and working I was because the job kept calling and I had to waste hour of cell phone mins for 1 pm telecon anyway.. I got a call from them at 11 like they gave up waiting in the cold so.. they came here and we watched the swearing in. I loved First Lady outfit though I was like she don't have a coat she must be cold but the green gloves and green pumps FIERCE!

My fav pic from today



"Greatness is never a given. It must be earned. " Pres. Obama quote I loved from his speech. Call me late to the Obama mania because my friends will tell you during the election time I might have read all of 1 article on politics (just sooo not my cup of tea). I'm one of those I voted now leave me alone type of cats which I will admit is a big ignorant given all the hardwork my ancestor did to secure those rights, but considered me a somewhat changed woman. Amazon.com should be shipping my Michele Obama book out (jive like possible role model) and I plan to read Barack's books later as well. Like I've been telling folks lets ride this high.. I'm feeling it because one we as people have no more "white man kept me down" excuses from both the sistas and the brothers.. like we achieved the highest position in American.. limits do not exist anymore in my opinion. I defiantly love Obama embracing technology, change.gov site and the forthcoming CTO cabinet position (Gives me a goal).

One thing that intrigued me as an InfoSec professional.. all the security planning and execution that went into this event. For example Obama's Caddy:

Like I said I'm on a personal high right now motivation on 100% not only did I amazon Michele books but got a 2009 GRE prep book because the program I'm lusting to get in could prepare me for doing work related to events like this. GWU has a bomb program related to InfoSec, actually one of the few schools in the area that has a full masters in this topic. It won't be an easy task to get into GWU and paying for GWU but prayfully if its meant to be God will recieve it for me. In the future I'm hoping to maybe one day I transfer from straight D-Dept to other agencies or a joint program because White House communications, Defense, Homeland we are one big old family.

On that note readers be please be pleased with the 5 posts for Jan lol.. work about to crank up to another notch and I don't go purposely MIA but I may have work trip in Feb (more details later) so I just gotta keep grinding- happily though because so many folks are with jobs no point in complaining.

Oh and LOL I broke down and joined twitter (only because I don't like spaming facebook with status updates)- Follow me... Follow me (sung to the tune of the Baltimore house song)

weather bug says its 18degress

woooo Pres Obama should be at home with this Chicago like weather we are experiencing right now this is the time now when we need snow.. its finally cold enuff

I want to try and pick up a bottle of this for my sis who heavily drinks the brown. Hennesey knew what they were doing black folks are going crazy over the Obama henny LOL




I'm about to start my mini-vacation by enjoying this marathon of living single (my favorite show in the world) on BET.

Before I go time to serenade another one of my astrological sistas:

Today, Jan. 17th, is First-Lady-in-Waiting Michelle Obama’s 45th birthday. All I can say is YOU GO GIRL!! You are now, well soon the new DIVA of the white house- march on!

feelin it

this raw detox has really made a sister embrace her inner vegetarian self. I didn't know it existed. I have been eating so many new foods let me run down the list:

1. falafel: I've seen it in many restaurant just not veggie spots so I finally asked someone wtf is this? They its like fried mash chickpeas so i was like hmm ok.. anyway the spot aka my new favorite vegetarian restaurant (Berwyn Cafe) made me a sample falafel patty to go with my meal for free talk about a sicer plus the joint was good yay. Perfect Pita bomb spot near work servers falafel so I will try it at work Monday- yes let me repeat that because I'm super blown I have to work Monday and I have a crucial meeting at that so grr I got prep myself Sunday since Sat I'm going to shop till I drop- okay not really but I do have to hit up the MAC makeup sale and I need some new work shirts desperately but err anyway post about the food not shopping :(
2. tofu lentil loaf- yumm.. its bomb because I love lentils but the tofu makes it filling..good with brown rice
3. Italian tofu balls w/ tomato sauce over brown rice- cranking dish from the cafe..man i didn't realize tofu can taste so good lol also feeling that switch up rice instead of pasta diggin that
4. new wholefoods based energy bar- BG Bar (Fortified with sprouted grains, greens, and Super Blue Green® Algae)- First of all I've been sleeping on the health benefits of sprouts (more on that later), the blue gree algae is out there but the bar tastes bomb, so you don't feel like you are eating "seaweed" lol. It also has 10g of protein which I need alot of due to me not eating any meat. Plus I do get a good energetic feeling after eating the bar usually for breakfast.
5. Sprouted Whole Grain Bread- Basically sprouted bread is bread made after some of the wheat germ has sprouted which gives your more vitamins & minerals and this bread is a good protein source as well. You have to keep it refrigerator so I've been eating it warmed with jelly nice filling snack.
6. Soy Dairy Products- I was such a soy milk hater but I guess my body's adjusted to it because I've been drinking soy milk by its self, also in my Sbux lattes and my cereal :0 . I've had soy based yogurt- eh I'm 50/50 it was good just very thick. I'm still a believer in organic skim milk and regular yogurt, so I'm going to keep thinking about if this will be a permanent switch or not.

So you can see I'm on day 12 of the Raw Foods Detox and other than moving my 1 hot meal around sometimes I'm staying true to the detox.

I have some more confessions I'm turning into a Youtube junkie.. not as in watching movies (been there done that) but as in uploading home made vidz (not those kinds perverts) but my fresh lil canon makes good small vidz for when me and my friends are out lunchin or I'm out visiting places.
For instance I went to a 'special place' last weekend lol a gay (dude) club. Down round Howard called Town Dance Boutique. It was an all out dance party with a drag queen show. My girl who I went with went to Nations (old dance club) before during a foam party night so she knew all about the twirling and glow sticks scene, me on other hand was like just like Wow lol more like Wow!
The Dragqueen was halarious I had no idea they were going to dance and lipsync. The lady/dude hosting the show was great she really got the audicne involved bought some gay white boyz on stage pratcially made him strip really OC. The show lasted about 1.5 and then it was 2 floors of disco lights and straight house music. The place was huge and they had a $3 acholic slushy drink machine OMG good and will get your fried. Man all the gay dancing I couldn't even party because I was laughing so hard at the twirling but it was fun espically because I love all genres of house music. I mos def will be going again hopefully I can find me a gay boyfriend to dance with me all night long.

Some movies from the night:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFUTp_JZJX0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3n6yDNar8Q

Queen doing her best Mary J Blige rendention



Status report on the Hometeams:
Nats: Season over.. worst record in the league (work on that)
Wizards: Trying to be an optimistic fan Arenas out, Haywood out (4-6 months) Jaimson (knee sprain should be ready opening night) Like I could deal with Arenas out but Haywood too unless the youngins on the squad are ready to step up big time we are going to struggle.
Caps: So blown about wizards might start watching hockey.
Redskins: Shining Stars out of the bruch (Thank God). Hopefully we will be safely 5-1 after Sunday just have to take it 1 game at time but folks need to stop sleepin on the team.

Day 3 Raw Food Detox

still getting used to this new lifestyle...went to order breakfast; raisin bagel toasted with cream cheese. I got all the way to my desk when I had Homer Simpson 'doh' moment. I was like this darn cream cheese I forgot its a 'cheese' lol and a dairy product. I hope this wasn't cheating but i scraped the hell out the bagel got all the cheese off no white residue left and ate the warm bagel as my 1 hot meal today. I have to chill with the heavy carbs yesterday I had bread with my soup; I don't normally eat too many and I don't want to substitute breads to make me feel full because I have all these dietary restrictions

Day 1 started off harsh because my girls and I went for a brunch/b-day celebration at this new trendy DC restaurant called CoCo Sala. CoCo Sala is a chocolate boutique but of course they serve regular food but cacao is their speciality. Now I gotta give myself a pat on the back for resisting the tempting items. My friends and I felt like we were on foodnetwork the way the chef's platted the food and the interesting mix of desserts (homemade marshmallows) ingrated with brunch items. One of my girls had a french toast blend with some Smore stuff in the middle. Poor Caplady ate salad (no cheese) and I did get Mint Hot chocolate (made with water) both were yummy so I'll will be going back after the raw food detox is over.

Move over Teavanna..quietly I haven't even gone there in a while anyway. My fave loose leaf tea spot is Ching Ching Chang in Georgetown, but I may have a new #1 Teaism. I've ate at Teasim a few times food is good, tea was straight nothing to get exicted over. The last time I went to Teasim I stopped at the store and picked up two types of herbal loose tea:
1. Mind & Body-Lemongrass, apple, rooibos, ginger, ginseng, cinnamon, bean peels, mistletoe, cardamom, clove & black pepper. Energizes, rejuvenates, boosts the immune system, creates physical balance
2.Now & Zen-Gingko, St. John's wort, lemongrass, birch leaves, bean peels, mistletoe & nettle leaves. Relieves stress, improves memory, strengthens the heart, and calms without tiring you. Also contains antioxidants.
Man these teas are good like the taste rocks. I haven't had any loose tea this good in a long while so I'll be going back soon because the 2oz package I got will be gone soon. I'm trying to cut down on my caffeine consumption which means chillin out on green tea as much as I love it so I'm constantly looking for other teas I can drink that will supply energy.

Anyway time for me to get lunch fruit and a grain bar *yay* 18 more dayz to go