Camera Question

I don't know how to top the last post. Can't be done. Unless I bowl at the Parthenon or something.

So I'll pose a question: I'm toying with the idea of getting a digital SLR camera but I never even bother to bring my little point-and-shoot with me anywhere, just the iPhone. I'm wondering whether it is worth paying the money for a nice camera if the thing is too big to tote around.

What do you all think? Any camera recommendations for a beginner are also appreciated! Thanks!

10 Miler = Finished!

Turns out the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile race on Sunday was nowhere near as scary as I imagined. The first three miles were the toughest for me, but then the rest was fine. It was a beautiful day, and when I got to the finish line I was glad to be done but I felt like I could have run farther.That's a crazy statement for me, since I am not a runner at all, and I never even imagined I would ever be able to run 10 miles. But earlier in the fall, I talked to my friend Linda about running and she said if you can run 5 miles, you can run 10 miles.

I once ran 5 miles on the treadmill during a particularly engrossing episode of "Real Housewives," so I thought perhaps 10 miles was possible. And it was! So this is for everyone who said I could finish the race, and for the few who said I couldn't - mainly my dad, whose exact words were "You'll never do that."OK, so my family was skeptical, as their main memories are me parked on the couch eating fruit snacks. But I'm telling you, if I can run the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler, anyone who puts their mind to it can run it too!

Design Blog Recommendations March 2011

These are well-known, but I love them so much and must share.1.) The Brick House
Morgan's taste may not always fit my sensibilities, but man, does she make weird thrift store art look good. Not to mention her writing is too funny.

2.) So The Brick House led me to the Emily Henderson's blog. She has a show on HGTV that - be still my heart - reminds me of how much fun "Trading Spaces" could be in its prime. I watched her show and then I read the blog and it was even better. She is adorable and her taste is exactly my taste. She loves disco balls, for goodness' sake!

Car-Free Living

For a good long time, I've been into design blogs. Now that I've run out of rooms in my apartment to "design" - i.e. slap up brightly colored tacky things - I am adding cooking blogs to the mix. I love the photos and the possibility of eating more elaborate dinners than a bag of popcorn, which is occasionally my go-to.

The only problem? I hate grocery shopping. Hate it. My main issue is that I live about a mile from the grocery store and I don't have a car. I was talking to a neighbor who goes to my church and she said, "I can't believe you live in this neighborhood without a car!""Oh, it's fine," I said. "Not a problem."Cut to literally 24 hours later, and after the non-arrival of the D2 bus, I'm trudging up a hill, wearing a gym bag, three grocery bags draped on each arm, a grocery bag hanging from my neck, carrying a pair of rain boots that I no longer need because it's not rainy. I might have also been weeping. Just a tad. All of the bags were arranged on my person in a Tetris-like puzzle, so that moving one bag would disturb the equilibrium of the whole thing.

Then I hear someone call "Hey, need a ride?" I look over and it's my neighbor Holley from yesterday. Yes, living in Glover Park without a car is no problem at all.She was nice enough to take pity on me and give me a lift home. I could barely climb into the car, with my Sherpa-esque arrangement of grocery bags. Thanks so much, Holley! Much appreciated!

Frenemy

Have you ever invited two people to an event because you figured one would say no - and then they both say yes? What an etiquette dilemma. After this happened a few weeks ago, my coworker and apparent frenemy Luther wrote a blog post about my lack of manners. I tried to make it up to him, but then things got significantly worse. You'll just have to read about it here. The photo-shopped images are classic.