Paula Deen is Insane

No, really. If you've ever watched her on TV and thought, "There is something off about that woman. Is it her eyes? I think she's nuts. I think she's a little raunchy. Something is just crazy about a woman that uses that much butter..." You would be right. More on that later. The best way to describe this weekend in all its glory, I think, would be an itinerary:

Friday night @ Churchkey: This is one of two primo beer bars in DC, noted most for its selection of Belgian beers and home-made cask ales. The beers are served all in correctly designed glasses and for the unexperienced beer drinker, may seem oddly warm at 52 degrees. Excellent spot- and one of the best happy hours in DC.

Saturday morning @ The Four Seasons Georgetown: Dr. Charles was in town and treated me to breakfast at Paul McCartney's favorite DC spot. Long discussions were held regarding educational policy, plans for next year and how baseball and education reform meet. The conversation may have been heavy, but those lemon-ricotta pancakes were oh so light...

Saturday afternoon @ TFA Professional development: Possibly the only low point of the weekend. PD in our second year is a drag- we're not experts and still crave pedagogical knowledge, but the information in our sessions feels repetitive.

Saturday evening @ Landmark E St. Theater: "127 Hours" is the new film about Aron Ralston, the mountain climber who became trapped under a boulder in 2003 and in the last few hours of his consciousness, hacked off his arm with a dull multi-tool in order to escape. The film was reminiscent of "Cast Away" as the entire feature focuses on one actor (James Franco) alone, and stuck, in a canyon. I woke up the next day thinking about it and the imagery of the hacking is still haunting me.

Sunday afternoon @ The Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show: The highlight of the weekend, and possibly the highlight of the fall! The DC convention center hosted this enormous exposition of local farms, small businesses, bakeries, and more. 300 vendors offered samples of their wares: I dined on chutneys and bruschetta, cupcakes and specialty peanut butters, infused teas and spicy dips, granolas and yogurts, sausage and seafood, and so, so much more. We watched cooking demonstrations from local culinary schools and product vendors and collected a slew of pamphlets and business cards (some of you may be receiving specialty-food gifts this holiday season!) The day culminated with the crazy Queen of Butter, Paula Deen. The most entertaining part of her cooking show was that she refused to cook! She preferred joking with the audience and talking about her day, sharing inspirational stories, and embarrassing her husband extensively. She was raunchy and edgy and ultimately very genuine and loving and she had the audience in the palm of her hand the entire show. They actually had to kick her off the stage as she continued her schtick for a half-hour longer than it was supposed to go and her security told her she was going to miss her plane.

The perfect weekend ended with a Pats win... peace and love until next time!

Tori