A numbers game

10... the number of fun people and old friends from college that sat at our table during Sarah & Evan’s wedding.
9.... The number of days I’ve been away from home for this trip so far (and also my longest trip so far)
8.... The number of times I contemplated quitting my job this week.
7.... The number of people supporting me this week to make our workshop successful.
6.... The number of plane flights I’ve been on (slept through) in the last 9 days
5.... The number of different hotels I’ve stayed in over the past 5 days.
4... The average number of hours I’ve slept each day this week.
3... The number of different states we were in on Saturday (TX, VA, FL)
2... The average time we went to bed for the last three nights – 2am.
1... There is only 1 place I want to be right now – home!

My workshop was a trial by fire this week. This is not the first workshop I’ve organized (more like the 5th?), but it is the first that I’ve been responsible for planning the content (presentations, working group discussion questions, output goals, etc). This was also the first meeting I facilitated which was daunting and proved to be a crash course in mediating conflicts in discussions as we had a lot of strong personalities in the room.
Next comes building a coalition and drafting a policy brief to submit to Science magazine.

The upside of the week was being able to see friends (old and new), tour the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, and being able to travel with Wade for the week. We also were able to slip out of DC for a day to see Sarah and Evan tie the knot. It was wonderful seeing two fun people get married who are so happy and right for each other, and wonderful to see old friends from college. Thanks to Taryn for sharing the following picture of the happy newlyweds! Look out world, here comes trouble! ;)

I write this as I sit in the San Juan, Puerto Rico airport (one of my least favorite airports). I am headed to Dominica in a few hours to attend a week of meetings and hopefully get a tiny bit of R&R in (which I desperately need). I’ll be traveling with a friend from work (Whitney), so that will help keep things fun. When I get back next week I’ll have a few days at home before heading to DC again for a presentation of my program to the executive board of EDF on June 10. Yeeahhhh.... that’s going to be super.

Calm before the storm

Well, by now I should have written about 5 blogs. There's one about my last trip to DC at the end of April, but I can sum it up pretty easily: terrible. There's one about my office mate and friend, Kellyn, leaving for a new job in Asheville , NC: bittersweet. The next would be about my and Wade' new adventure learning to sail with Megan's Dad, Steve (see his website and travel journals under our link section (Steve & Joy): exhilarating. I can't forget that Wade started his first post-doc job with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) a few weeks ago: daunting and interesting. And the last would be about celebrating Easter with my Mom & Larry (our present was to teach them how to blog): fun.

So it seems pretty lame to give you a one word synopsis about all five of those, but that's because I've been pretty much consumed with preparing for a meeting I am holding in DC next week. It really is everything I've been working towards for the last 8 months and really will make or break my program. This week I've been working non-stop in prep for it (yes, I did work until midnight on Monday...), and we're undergoing some cuts at work which has everyone on edge, including me. So I've had to be extremely focused to get everything done while not freaking out about who's going to be let go...

On Sunday Wade and I will fly to DC together for my workshop which is part of a larger suite of meetings. Although he's really going for the other meetings, it will be wonderful to have him along for moral support. We spend a week there, then head to TX for a day next weekend for Sarah & Evan's wedding, then back to DC for a day to wrap up the meetings, then back home. But alas, after a week, I won't actually get to go home. We'll overnight in the hotel in the Tampa airport so I can fly out on Memorial Day for a week in Dominica for another meeting where I will be giving a talk. Wade will stay home with the kids, but I will be meeting up with a friend and colleague from work, and two friends from grad school.

I am telling you all of this in advance b/c it could be difficult to get a hold of me until June (seriously). And once I get back I am already scheduled for 2 trips to DC, one of which will be a big review of my program... and in a not so fun kind of way. Ahh, belt-tightening.

Amidst all this hustle and scurrying, I've been working from home more to ward off stress. Snuggling, I mean, working with the cats around has been wonderful, and we've discovered that we're running our own little bird sanctuary in our yard. We now have a full family of Carolina Wrens and Downy Woodpeckers winging through the yard and singing in the trees. It has been very entertaining watching the youngsters learn how to use the feeders and inspect us on the back deck. This new life is already on top of the small Tufted Titmouse family, gang of blue jays, Red-bellied woodpeckers, Mr. & Mrs. Cardinal (who might also have a nest), various warblers, occasional Red-shouldered and Cooper's Hawks, osprey, and Great Flycatchers we regularly hear in the neighborhood. I am also excited that we're just now getting the cicada's singing again - one of my favorite sounds of summer. I hope the promise of summer is as exciting for you all as it is here in our own yard!

And I'll do my best to send out updates while I'm traveling. In the mean time, hold tight and we'll be back with pictures and stories soon. :)

Happy Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day and as such, I took stock of what we've done in the last few years to be kinder to Mother Earth. I recently read a book that asked people to imagine they were on a spaceship headed to another planet hundreds of years away... a limited supply of air and water and the only resources you had were what you could fit in the ship! You wouldn't want to produce any wastes that couldn't be reused or recycled (or else they'd taint your air, water, and food) and in turn you would want to create things that could be reused to create less waste.
Pretty interesting and daunting scenario right? The thought of space travel might make you claustrophobic, but if you think about it, we're all traveling through space on a blue and green space ship - stuck with a finite amount of air, water, and food.... yeah, it's cheesy to say, but we're on Spaceship Earth. Think about that. Then think about what you can do to make less pollution/trash and reuse the stuff you've already got.

Here are some easy tips on things we do everyday. Start slow, we've been adding these slowly since we got married so they've all added up. Pick one new thing to try until it's a habit, then try another. There are lots more out there if you check some of the links and books on the side of our site.

1. Take your own cloth bags to the grocery, Target, pharmacy, take-out place, wherever.
2. Buy a reusable water bottle to refill instead of buying (evil) plastic bottles. Better for you, your wallet, and the planet.
3. Just in case you haven't heard - recycling rocks. Do it, it's easy and free.
4. Buy produce from a local farm/farmer's market, bonus points if it's an organic farm.
5. Buy things with less packaging (less waste!) - and look for packaging that can be recycled (aluminum cans, glass bottles, etc).
6. Compost. Send less food scraps and yard waste to the landfill and instead use them to nourish your plants and trees! Or give them to a friend who composts - sometimes cities even collect it for you.
7. Use biodegradable plastic bags for garbage, doggie poop bags, and litter box liners (actually we don't use those anymore at all...)
8. Use the library to check out books and DVDs. Sharing saves resources and saves you money!
9. Drive less. Walk, take the bus or the metro when possible - it'll save you money too!
10. Change out your lightbulbs to Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs). Saves electricity and money! You can also save both of those by unplugging appliances (TVs, microwaves, computer monitors) you aren't using and turning off fans and lights when you leave a room.

So there you go - things to help your wallet and help the health of the planet, and ultimately everyone's health. Enjoy!

Cherry Trees and Monuments

After L.A., I headed to DC for two days to do some training. It was nice to be able to travel with my office mate Michelle - having a friend to talk to is better than sitting with a stranger for 2.5 hours! The first night, the usual suspects (Whitney, Preetha, and Michelle) and I made the pilgrimage to Georgetown to visit the Patagonia store then have dinner at the tea house - always a good evening! The next day was a full day of communications training, after which Michelle, Preetha and I deemed it necessary for a hearty Mexican dinner and margaritas. Feeling a bit tipsy and full, Michelle and I then headed out to walk the monuments at sunset and see the cherry trees. Below is the Washington Monument at sunset from across the tidal basin - along the water you can just see the pink blossoms on the cherry trees.

DC this time of year is quite beautiful - trees budding out, cherry blossoms around the tidal basin, and tulips and daffodils everywhere you look. It was my first time seeing the cherry trees so we thought it would be fun to do a tour. Once we got to the Jefferson Memorial where the tours start we realized that everyone else and their brother was thinking the same thing! So, we did our own unofficial tour. We started at the Jefferson Memorial (a first for me), then around the Tidal Basin to see the cherry trees, then through the Roosevelt Memorial (another first), over to the WWII Memorial (yet another first), then we ended at the Washington Memorial. We saved the Lincoln Memorial (one of my favorites) and the Vietnam Wall for next time. The walk made for the perfect ending to our trip. Below is a view of the Jefferson Memorial at night through the cherry trees. Check out more pictures on our Picasa site.

It was a quick trip this time around, so it was nice to be home in time for Easter. Saturday we picked up a nice bunch of veggies from the farm, met Kellyn for some time on the beach (my shoulders now resemble a lobster), then had pizza with my extended family. Sunday we had my folks over for Easter dinner and made them Mexican food with all the veggies from the farm.

I'm happy to be home for a week before I head to DC again!

The Coral Entourage Goes to the O.C.

Although we don't have television, I've seen enough to know when my job intersects with TV shows. This past week I was in Orange County, CA (The O.C.) for work. With me came: my boss (Amanda), a colleague from NOAA (Glynnis), a scientist and big name in the aquarium hobby (Eric), and my funder (Kristine). The first day there we all piled into the car and drove to L.A. to meet with a saltwater aquarium importer who's actually doing things right. Afterwards, we met with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (the folks who check what animals are imported into the U.S.) to talk about enforcement issues. We even got to follow around an inspector for a few hours helping with inspections at LAX airport which was really interesting (and made me feel like we were her entourage). I was also half expecting to see some scary Chinese triad people smuggling cars while we were in the warehouse district too... but alas, my TV-generated expectations of LA were not met (haha).

The next night Glynnis and I were up for a little adventure so we drove to the heart of the O.C. (as seen on television we were told) to have dinner in Laguna Beach. We walked the beach a bit and I saw my first sunset on the Pacific Ocean (and of course took an absurd amount of pictures).

After the sun went down, we hoofed it past my first tsunami evacuation route sign (see our Picasa site) on the street to a really cool sushi place. It was quite an adventure since it was a "fusion" sushi place - meaning we barely recognized anything on the menu (and there weren't a whole lot of veggie rolls). One roll I ordered had 3 kinds of fish, mango, banana, avocado, walnuts, and sprouts. Crazy, but delicious! We also ordered sashimi that was a slab of rice, grapefruit, and avocado seat-belted together with some seaweed. We were skeptical, but it was fantastic and really refreshing.

The third day we spent with Eric at the Marine Aquarium Expo (he was giving a talk) to meet some people and get the scoop on various businesses involved in the trade. It was incredible to see how much coral was for sale and how small the pieces were compared to the price.

After we'd seen everything we took Eric out to lunch for more sushi. At this sushi place they had fantastic vegetarian rolls - some even with pumpkin! I was also happy to eat sushi three times in 5 days because it gave me a great excuse to use my travel chopsticks. In a continuing effort to cut down the amount of waste I create I have started using a set of Snow Peak traveling chopsticks (they breakdown in half) and an REI metal spork. I frequently eat Asian food and oatmeal (no, not together) when I travel so these are essential tools for me. I also use them when I'm not traveling - the spork is even good for frozen yogurt! I love being able to cut down the number of plastic spoons and wood chopsticks in landfills. Wade liked my chopsticks so much he has a pair now too!

This was one of the few trips I've taken that I was able to travel with people, so it was really nice to have company and even better that everyone was fun to hang out with. It was also an inspiring experience spending the whole trip with fellow vegetarians (who had been for 20+ years!).

To see more pictures on our Picasa site, click here.

Good Friends & Good Times

We headed to Miami for a long weekend of friends and fun. We arrived on Thursday night at Casa de Jason & Rachel who were kind enough to put us up for the weekend. I was excited to finally get to see their awesome new place in the city. Friday we headed in to RSMAS to get some work done (thankfully, I have a work laptop), had lunch with Rachel, and said hello to folks at the RSMAS bar. After work, we headed to Calle Ocho to grab some rum. That night Marilyn came over and we made rum punch and rum runners while the guys grilled quesadillas for us. There was much laughter to be had as Marilyn regaled us with the tale of meeting "Gaius Baltar" from Battlestar Galactica and we broke out her Storm Trooper (yes, the white plastic dudes from Star Wars) helmet that made your voice sound like one too. (Yes, we know we're Sci-Fi nerds) Hilarious! Below, Wade is cracking up at my storm trooper impersonation...

For all you Battlestar Galactica fans out there, below is the picture Marilyn shared with us from her and Tyler's encounter with James Callus (center), aka Gaius Baltar (sorry M, I couldn't resist - it's just too awesome!):

Saturday we got up and headed to the Orchid Festival at Fairchild Gardens (a "bonus" for the weekend!). Marilyn, Rachel, and I did not leave empty handed. We had fun wandering the gardens and ooohing and aahhing over all the beautiful plants. Below, is a closeup of one orchid I got that is similar to the ones we had for our wedding centerpieces (I've been looking for one since our wedding!).

Afterwards we headed back to the house to get cleaned up. The whole reason we picked this weekend to visit Miami was for Susie (sorority sister from undergrad) and Andrew's wedding. So, Saturday night we got dressed up and headed to Miami Beach for their wedding. We ended up sitting with the rest of my sorority sisters and it was so much fun to see them all again. It was the first Jewish wedding ceremony Wade and I had been to, so it was a neat thing to see. Wade liked that they sang everything. :) After the ceremony, there was a cocktail reception where we all watched another guest pile a heaping Tablespoon of wasabi (super hot green Japanese condiment) on top of a piece of sushi - thinking it was guacamole. He stuffed it all in his mouth in one bite as Wade elbowed me to point him out "Watch this!"... after a few seconds the guy leaned his head back in pain and groaned then lurched forward and coughed while bits flew out of his mouth. By this point we'd told the rest of the table what was happening and we all laughed quietly, then the guy did it again?! Then we all lost it and laughed openly at him until we almost cried. Priceless. Then we moved on to the reception. Everything was done up beautifully and the food was great. After dinner we got a second with the bride checking out her new bling, then the DJ kicked into high gear. The guy was giving away free stuff all night long which ended up being pretty entertaining... plastic hats (see Wade), aviator sunglasses, confetti poppers, masks, mardi gras beads, leis, and the list goes on. Needless to say, we made sure to take as many pictures as possible. :) Below, Tricia and I pose with Susie the beautiful bride.
Sunday we slept in then took Jason and Rachel to breakfast in the Gables. Then we packed up and headed home. I was bummed to leave Mac, Rachel's tuxedo kitty. In the past, he's been afraid of us, but apparently the new digs make him feel like king of the castle. By the end of the weekend we were cracking up how much he liked sleeping on our stuff on the guest bed and following us around. He's a real charmer. Thanks for being such great hosts Jason & Rachel!!

For more pictures of the frivolity of our weekend in Miami click here to visit our Picasa site.

A Weekend in the Penalty Box

Cara and I finally broke in the Red Fish (aka Crack Bunny) for the first time this weekend -- we spent two days back-to-back relishing in the waters of the west coast. Saturday we met up with Carol and Larry for our weekly veggie-picking at the farm, had a picnic, and then put the canoe in next door at Robinson Preserve in Bradenton. It's a beautiful preserve the county put in within the last year, very well done with miles of nice trails and access to both some mangrove and bay paddling. Here's Larry helping Cara getting the Crack Bunny off:

This picture was approximately 0.5 seconds before Cara's foot came into contact with that large boulder she's not looking at. She still has a scrape and a bruise... I don't know if Cara ever told the story about our canoe yet, but for those wondering why we got a bright red canoe, it wasn't planned. Her friend that ran the paddling shop in Key Largo sold it to her at cost because they received it from the company by accident, and they were afraid no one would want a bright red canoe. So we ended up saving about $250 on the purchase. A very nice deal indeed.... in case you're wondering why we call it Crack Bunny, the logo of the canoe company, Mad River Canoe, is a bunny smoking a peace pipe:

And this is us off pushing off for our Saturday adventure:

As you can see, the Captain started off in her usual spot in the rear of the canoe, while I took what I loving refer to as the "penalty box" up front. It's a wee-bit tight up there, but does provide the best seat for fishing. The Captain is more read-up on her "strokes", so accordingly there's a common held belief that her steering is more polished and safe when we get into tight situations. Suffice to say we did a little switch-a-roo as pictured here with the Captain taking her turn in the penalty box:

And low-and-behold, my steering did indeed need some work. But I still claim that's from general lack of practice, and my 2 hours at the rudder didn't get me up to speed.

We ended up paddling from the start of Robinson down into Perico Bayou, which was beautiful and mangrovy without the clutter of fancy houses hogging up the shoreline. We saw this nice Osprey posing for us down there:

All in all it was a very nice trip, and highly recommended for the locals to check out the preserve if they get a chance. And even more so, it was nice to break in our canoe finally on the west coast and start living like we should be over here!

Since the canoe was still on the car, and it was a beautiful weekend, we decided to make a second paddling day on Sunday. This time we went out to Lido Key (where St Armand's Circle is), to the park at the south end of the Key. It's a beautiful area to paddle, and apparently a big attraction since we saw a couple of paddling shops / tours going out from there. The park has some very extensive mangrove tunnels through the area like this:

The first one we went through we were with the tide, behind a kayaker that didn't belong to well there. For those wondering about the advantages comparing a canoe to a kayak, this situation is where a canoe excels. You can put your paddle straight down beside the canoe so can get through tighter areas. A kayak paddle is difficult to use in tight spaces like these prop roots. Also, canoes can hold loads more than kayaks generally. But we're biased now!

The second tunnel we went through we were against the tide, so that was a bit hairy. Some tempers were starting to flair with steering through some tight corners. We bounced off quite a few roots on that run (and apparently my "help" with the steering almost decapitated the Captain a few times).

Later we headed up into the bay, and I got to break in my fishing gear. Caught myself a nice big trout on a crank bait by snagging him on the chin after he bumped my bait. So much more fishing to do now....

After the two days, our arms and shoulders were whooped, but now we can't wait to get back out there again!