Glor + Jay's

Our New Roles

GloryJay's — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:47:08 +0000

We haven’t posted her in a while, forgive us, but we have been busy raising our daughter, Arianna. So come visit us at vargasbaby.com. xo

We Scrabbled

GloryJay's — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:34:41 +0000

Our first Scrabble game. Me: 322, Jay: 218. I don’t mean to brag but I had a total word score of 96!

Do you scrabble?

–Glor

Good Eats: chicken stew

GloryJay's — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 01:37:00 +0000

Last night for dinner we enjoyed this very scrumptious meal I prepared. Pan-seared chicken with green + red peppers, red + green onions, celery, and mushrooms. Mmm…delicious!

Jay loved it quote “very hearty.”

Indeed!

Good Eats: sushi

GloryJay's — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 20:32:35 +0000

Jay and I took a break from moving and unpacking to grab some sushi in Tysons Corner. We enjoy sushi very much.

What is Love?

GloryJay's — Fri, 13 May 2011 20:19:21 +0000

This morning as I was walking our dog, Jolie, it started to drizzle. So I covered Jay’s motorcycle with bike cover.

Then I emailed him saying:
Subject Line: You’re Welcome

“Babe I moved my car and covered your bike. It started to rain outside. Love you.”

He replied with:
“WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now that is true love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought it was super cute that you put it on backwards. Gosh I love you! That was way cool babe!!!!”

Happy Valentine’s Day From Glor & Jay!

GloryJay's — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:19:16 +0000

Love is in the air, especially today—Valentine’s Day! We have to say we are sorry we haven’t posted anything on gloryjays.com for a while. Well, so much happened since the beginning of the New Year…we’ll have to write a special to share what’s been going on in our lives with you. Until then, though, we wanted to wish you all a very happy, love-filled Valentine’s Day!

During his lunch break, Jay surprised me at home with a dozen roses, a Hallmark Cupid Snoopy complete with sound and motion and lots of kisses. I love this man! (Thank you, honey!)

Jay and I jaunted into DC yesterday to figure out some travel logistics for my new commute ride into to work. (Um, yes, I got a new job—one of the many things that’s been going on with us this year, (see paragraph above). Anyway, while there we had dinner at this great Chinese place in Chinatown—Tony Cheng—awesome food; you must try! After dinner we took a walk through the neighborhood, did some window-shopping at Urban Outfitters—love that store; we reminisced a bit when we walked past Matchbox—another awesome place for some pizza and burger. Finally, we made out way to the Gallery Place where we dashed into Hagen-Dazs for some well-deserved ice cream to soothe out sweet tooth. Yup, it’s a problem we know but so what we love sweets. Jay ordered the cookie dough and I got the dolce de leche ice cream—delish! We sat down and talked about how wonderful Gallery Place is and how we’ve never been in there but will definitely go back in.

The night was winding down so we grabbed some newspapers and other publications from the corner across from the Pepco station. And that’s where we picked up the Washington City Paper. While waiting for and on the metro ride back to NoVa, we perused through the pages and found this very interesting cartoon pictures on the last page with the headline caption that read “VALENTINE’S DAY GIFT GUIDE”. Jay read it aloud and we thought it was hilarious because we could relate to the ‘AFTER FIRST YEAR’ piece. We thought it was pretty darn close to our relations and thought we’d share with you, so, here you go!

What stage are you in your relationship and what are your plans for today with your significant other? We welcome comments so please share your thoughts / ideas below.

Again, Happy Valentine’s Day!

Glor + Jay

A Law That Should Exist

GloryJay's — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:22:45 +0000

Pure Bliss…

If I could enact one new law it would be that every citizen workout for at least 30 minutes a day, three to four times per week because the endorphins will make everyone happier and the health benefit is priceless. Live longer happier!

Good Eats: Our Favorite Eateries

GloryJay's — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 06:29:59 +0000

Click to view slideshow.

Jay and I love food and I especially love vino. We eat out at least a couple of time a week. Because of our love for grubs, I’ve put together a slideshow of good eats from some of our fav foods from the area restaurants.

We had NYE dinner at one of Tysons Corner’s hot spots, ecitie Restaurant & Bar. We also enjoyed dining at Matchbox in Chinatown, DC. We love, Love sushi so when we’re in the mode for some awesome and freshly rolled rolls, we head to Yirasai Japanese Cuisine in Vienna. And for low-key, low budget and healthy eats, we prefer Chipotle or Noodles & Company in Vienna, VA.

eCITIE Restaurant & Bar
Restaurant and bar joint complete with dancing floor and great DJ. (checkout salsa lessons on Tues.).
1524L-M Springhill Road
McLean, VA 22102
General Info & Reservations | 703-760-9000
Hours | Tues. – Fri. 5 PM – 2 AM; Sat. 6 PM – 2 AM
www.ecitiecafe.com
Atmosphere: dancing / DJ / great bartenders
Price range: $$
gloryjays.com tip: go see Dave at the main bar…tell him we sent you!

Matchbox Chinatown
American-style cuisine serving burgers and fries in a bistro style atmosphere.
713 H Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
General Info & Reservations | 202-289-4441
Hours | Sunday: 11 AM – 10 PM
Monday – Thursday: 11 AM – 10:30 PM
Friday – Saturday: 11 AM – 11:30 PM
www.matchbox.com
Atmospher: Bistro / Fine Dining
Price: $$$
gloryjays.com tip: sit on the outside covered patio in the summer.

Yirasai Japanese Cuisine
Freshly rolled sushi with two locations –Vienna, VA and Bethesda, MD that’s sure to please.
128 Maple Ave., W.
Vienna, VA 22180
General Info / Reservation & Takeout | 703-319-1300
Hours | Mon. – Fri 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM & 4PM – 10 PM
Saturday | Noon – 10 PM and Sunday | 4 PM – 9 PM
Atmostphere: casual Japanese style atmostphere
Prices: $$
gloryjays.com tip: sit at the sushi bar and interact with the Sushi Chef for some free sushi samples that’s sure to make you happy.

Noodles & Company
Check out all the N&C choices with as few calories as 400. Don’t forget to ask the staff for more details.
201 Maple Avenue
Vienna, VA 22180
General Info | 703-281-6544
Hours | Open Daily 10:30 AM – 10 PM
www.noodles.com
Atmosphere: Casual
Prices: $
gloryjays.com tip: ask the staff for recommendations and specials. (there’s more to the menu than what you see, shhh)

Stress Busters: Tips on How to Manage Stress

GloryJay's — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 23:30:08 +0000

Plinky asks, “Are you stressed out?”

Am I stressed? Right now, no, I am not stressed. But, I will say we all face stressful situations in our personal and professional lives; and each individual manages stress differently. Contrary to popular belief that stress is more prevalent during the holidays, we deal with stress year round. Stress can lead to emotional highs and lows, poor judgment, overeating, insomnia, alcohol abuse and severe increase in cortisol, which increases belly fat and a host of other health conditions. However you look at it, the physical and emotional consequences of stress can be detrimental to overall health.

Causes

While there are common causes of stress like work, relationships, financial, etc, stress factors differ from one individual to the next. Identifying your stress factors is as important as managing and dealing with stress. The stresses of work can be very difficult to deal with because you have to remain professional at all times in the workplace. For me, the stresses of managing multiple web development projects and high profile projects can sometimes be stressful. I’d have admit I have fallen victim to stress in the workplace. Below are some of the things that helped me deal with and manage stress in my personal and work life:

Managing stress–

Exercise – participating in any aerobic / cardio exercise will help reduce your stress dramatically. You don’t have to hit the gym for hours, just taking a 30 minute walk around the neighborhood goes a long way. And if you don’t have time to workout in the morning, you can walk during your lunch hour. The key is to stay consistent and motivated.
Yoga –as a yogi, I can honestly say that yoga is one of the best stress management techniques I have practiced. As an avid jogger, I am addicted to the natural highs of endorphins, but yoga is different in the sense that it calms your body, mind and soul. And the breathing exercises can be practiced anywhere.
Balanced nutrition and diet –eating a balanced diet of seafood, plenty of fruits and vegetables, drinking tons of water and moderate amounts of green tea (preferably decaffeinated) will help keep you healthy.
Make a to do list – making a list of your projects is a great first step to keeping stress at bay in the workplace. Listing all the things you have to work on will help you stay focus on tasks. Moreover, checking off the completed tasks will give you a sense of satisfaction and accomplishments.
Set priorities – after making your list, set priorities by tagging your projects in order of importance. For example, A=high; B=medium; C=low, etc.
Communicate with your boss – sharing your project list with your boss is important and allows s/he to know your workload thereby allowing him to assign new tasks accordingly; therefore ensuring that you do not have too much on your plate.

How do you manage stress?

Hello, I’m a Mac.

GloryJay's — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 06:30:03 +0000

I’m a PC…not anymore.

I’ve been a diehard PC user for years. I’m familiar with different Windows operating environments such as MS Dos; Windows NT; Windows ’95, ’97, and 2000; Windows XP; Windows Vista; and just recently Windows 7. Not only was I a dedicated PC user, I also offered technical support to PC users on these platforms. The thought of ever using anything but a PC was not something I thought about. To be honest, I actually never thought I’d use Mac even if you paid me to mostly because Mac was too proprietary and of course, I’d always thought it was for top professional graphic designers, (my opinion).

When I met the MacBook Air–

Something happened on Christmas Day 2010 that changed my computing life forever. I got the new MacBook Air as a CHristmas present from my boyfriend, Jay. Well, like most people around the world that morning, I screamed, jumped up and down, hugged him, screamed again, and kept saying “omg, no way…seriously, omg, omg, thank-you, babe…thank you…omg, omg!!!”. I couldn’t rip open the wrapping fast enough on the accompanying wireless keyboard and mousepad. Let’s just say I was in Mac heaven and the sweet songs of this shinny, light-weight piece of stealth computing machinery was singing sweet to me. I had been a very good girl after all.

It’s been a week since Christmas, and I am addicted to everything Mac. I have been on http://www.apple.com/ reading up on switching from PC to Mac, learning the short keys and shortcut equivalencies, changing my preferences and downloading apps and extensions to make my Mac MINE. One of my goals for 2011 is to become a Mac geek; I absolutely love my Mac! All the applications are at my finger tips thanks to the Dock. The most amazing part, for me, is how fast it takes to restart the Mac versus Windows. Talk about zero to runtime in seconds!

Oh, one of my favorite things I’ve learned today is the print screen function: start by holding down Apple keys ⌘ + Shift + 3 and release all, then use your mouse to click on the screen and viola! You screen image will be saved on your desktop. Piece of cake!

What did Santa bring you for Christmas? Do you have a Mac or MacBook Air? Please join-in on the conversation by share your comments below.

For more information on the new MacBook Air and additional key features, visit www.apple.com. Also, check out the cool video on the slick and thin design: Watch the video above.

–glor