The Carpet Convention

There are refreshments everywhere-- organic teas, coffee, soda, hot cider, hot chocolate, and bottled water for your taking... They are also handing out soft pretzels with a choice of gourmet mustards and bags of freshly popped buttered popcorn.  Several open bars have been placed around the room and waiters come by offering hot appetizers like chicken dumplings, crab cakes, and bruschetta.  Every once in awhile, you see a guy handing out balloon animals.  There is also a stand where you can get your face painted and not too far away an artist is doing caricature drawings.  Oh, and not to mention there are lots and lots of carpet displays.

My parents travel every once in awhile to attend carpet conventions (they own a carpet store) and this year they ended up in DC.

My mom and I with Tommy Mohawk 

(Mohawk Carpet's mascot)

When I agreed to tag along, I didn't realize how much it would be like going to a fair (minus the rides of course).  The best part was all of the FREE STUFF I walked away with thanks to my dad's diligence in collecting it from all the stands.  I am now the proud owner of 2 new T-shirts, a sweatshirt, a bunch of flash drives shaped as corn, a bottle opener, some animal crackers, an umbrella, a carpet cleaning for dummies manual (you never know when this might come in handy), and plenty of pens.

During the market event, when a limited supply of carpet goes on sale, it was fun to witness the throng of carpet salesmen meander through the stalls trying to swipe the good deals before everyone else.  I particularly liked watching my parents in their element.  My mom would stand at a table rifling through carpet square samples while my dad stood close by.  Every so often they would lock eyes and start bouncing numbers off of one other:  "170?"  "Better make it 200."  "How about some 2's?"  "No, we need more 8's." It was like a hidden code or "carpet talk" that I could not decipher but was glad they at least seemed to know what the other was talking about.  For someone who grew up with parents who own a carpet store, I sure know very little about carpet...

And did you know that plastic bottles can be recycled into carpet?  I had no idea but I did enjoy this recycling display.  If you can't read the sign, it says "Turn your empty plastic bottles into carpet HERE!":

Apparently you can also make carpet from corn (surprise, surprise).  I got a kick out of this display and almost thought I was back in Nebraska again:

The convention was being held at the Gaylord National Resort that overlooks the Potomac River.  They had some spectacular holiday lights up so we asked for a room overlooking the atrium.  Here is a picture from our balcony.

My dad sent a few quick e-mails overlooking the view.

And here is a picture OF our balcony.  We were on floor 7.

Their tree was humongous and made entirely of glass.

And they had a fountain light show every night.  I caught the end of one on video:

So that's what a carpet convention is like from the perspective of an outsider.  Okay, you can probably tell I basically skipped out on all the informative meetings and classes and just attended the fancy lunches and dinners.  But I still like to think that I am wiser after this experience.

oo,

Thanks, Giving

Thanksgiving.  I have to say it's my favorite of the secular holidays.  New Years Eve?  Overrated.  Fourth of July?  Too many bugs.  Halloween?  Never been much of a fan.  But a holiday that's all about eating?  Bring it on!

Sidenote:  Did you know there is actually a Tolkien Reading Day?  It takes place on March 25 in honor of the fall of Sauron.  I'm totally partaking in this.  In fact, I have a feeling this is going to quickly become my #2 favorite secular holiday...

Patrick and I spent Thanksgiving this year in Ohio with my lovely in-laws.  Allow me to share some of the highlights:

• "Wii" played lots of games (if you catch my reference).
• Patrick (aka Paul Bunyan) kept the fire going almost every night.  
• Trivia night at Buffalo Wild Wings (I still like to call it BW3's even though it has long since dropped the third W).  Sadly our team/half of the family lost but the war is not over... also the garlic-parmesan chicken wings are the best!
• Patrick's mountain.  Every year for Thanksgiving, Patrick likes to pile his mashed potatoes, turkey, vegetables, and stuffing in layers until it forms a huge mountainous structure.  Here is a picture of his masterpiece this year (the gravy kind of looks like lava spilling down):

• Notre Dame's long overdue victory over USC.  FINALLY.  But the best part was discovering that all 8 members of the family fit on the sofa while watching the game.  I wish I would have taken a picture of this...
• Christmas tree decorating.  
• Giving:  Their family has this new tradition (did you catch that oxymoron?) where they exchange gifts with each other based on what that person would like as a 5-10 year old.  After opening them, they are all donated to charity.  I love this tradition because it invokes the second half of the term "Thanksgiving."  I got this awesome complete kitchen set that made me wish I was a 5-10 year old again:

I realize this post is 3 weeks overdue, but Happy Thanksgiving! nonetheless :)

oo,

The First Snowfall

Wow.  Yes, I realize it's been awhile since my last blog entry.  Between Thanksgiving in Ohio, Patrick's trip to Russia while my parents came into town, and then a trip to LA, we've been keeping busy!  Now I have a little time on my hands before the Christmas madness sets in, so I want to give some of my favorite highlights of the past few weeks.  Each event deserves its own post (or rather, will not fit into one), so I will write about it over the next few days...

But first, I wanted to share a glimpse of the first snowfall in DC.  Here is the lovely view outside my balcony:

The construction site is really coming along now, isn't it?  Thanks to the paper it is now covered in, it almost blends in!  If only it weren't for that blue writing (which is too small to read in this picture but it says "Tyvek" all across it.)  It is snowing in the picture but you can't see the snowflakes.  I wish I could get a camera that captured that.  Or maybe it's just the photographer that is lacking...

Anyway the important thing is that now it officially feels like Christmas!  Which is good timing since, as I mentioned before, we just got back from sunny LA where it most definitely did NOT feel like Christmas (but it's hard to complain about 70 degree weather in December...).  Nebraska has already been through a number of blizzards I hear, so I think we're covered for our visit next week.

Isn't there a Christmas song celebrating the first snowfall?  I must find one and listen to it...

oo,