theparkerfamily.org

  • Travel: Vegas at Night, Las Vegas, Nevada

    Ah, Vegas.

    So, it’s a bit of a long story … but once upon a time, I worked for a progressive web consulting firm called the Carol | Trevelyan Strategy Group. We were a mission-driven organization, with nary a business degree among us. The type of company where people willing worked obscene hours for “the cause,” and where management was willing to go without a pay check in the lean months.

    Started in the early 1990s, CTSG created the first campaign web site (one of the California Senators) and by the end we had worked with just about every major progressive organization, cause and politician in U.S.

    Unfortunately, our luck started to run out when the non-profit technology industry started to consolidate in 2004. By the 17th of March 2005, we had been gobbled up by a soul-less, publically traded corporation called Kintera.

    Ironically, it turns out that our non-profit clients just weren’t willing to subsidize the cost of our doing business progressively … and we should all be honest that non-profits are just about the most ardent capitalists around when it comes to minimizing their budgetary spending.

    Anyway, we were in the planning stages of a company retreat when the St. Patricks Day massacre occured. For many, the purchse turned out to be little more than an excerize in pink-slip avoidance, so it was of little shock that something as expensive and touchy-feel as a staff retreat was cancelled.

    While the 2005 retreat was “lost,” a group of us are getting together in Vegas this weekend to make up for lost time and retreats. First step was meeting by the Bellagio fountains at midnight. How very “Ocean’s Eleven” of us.

    Explore the Photo Set:
    Vegas at Night, Las Vegas, Nevada

  • Wedding: “Peacock” Wins!

    The battle of the bridesmaids color swatches is over, and “peacock” won … likely with a pipe wrench in the conservatory. Truth be told, it was the consensus pick. Everyone seemed to like it, which is great for them, but it’s hard to blog without conflict.

  • Photos: Cypress Creek, Wimberly, Texas

    Out in Texas for Thanksgiving. It’s been an aweful long time since I have done any photography …

    Not too long after the trip to Arizona, Emily (the Cat) started having pretty severe problems with her stomach. Turns out that everything is okay, but she has been on twice daily medication which has put some limits on travel and extra-curricular activities.

    I had never been to Texas hill country before, so driving out to Wimberly and back was really quite something. My life has been so East Coast-centric, that just about any new biome impresses the heck out of me.

    Explore the Photo Set:
    Cypress Creek, Wimberly, Texas

  • Carter’s Country Shooting Range

    [Carter's Country Shooting Range, Houston, Texas]
    there is nothing better than going with three hot young texas women to a shooting range out her in a suburb of a suburb of houston, texas.

    the spindler sisters were decidedly the only women there under 300 lbs — and watching the crowd as they moved through is as close as i’ll ever get to witnessing supermodels navigate the paparazzi on fifth avenue.

    i didn’t shoot myself — not sure anybody was ready to a the long-haired hippie with anything approximating a loaded weapon — but watching everybody else watching the spindler sisters squeeze off a few rounds was totally worth all those awkward “who let him in here” stares i recieved.

    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    Carter’s Country Shooting Range, Spring, Texas

  • Wedding: Bridesmaids Dresses, oh my!

    Aloe

    Bordeaux

    Paprika

    Peacock

    Dark Red

    Aubergine

    So, dear reader, I am starting to get perilously out of my element, so please give me a wide berth as we discuss things … well, female.

    With most of the major decisions done (church, reception) or pending (rehearsal dinner) or at least started (wedding dress, band, photographer) The Lady Sparkler and her bridesmaids have turned attention to the bridesmaids’ dresses.

    My one request in this wedding journey was for bridesmaids’ dresses with large, taffeta “rear-end” bows. You know the ones that you see in the 80s wedding movies, where the bow sits right on the rump, and takes up the whole small of the back.

    Not surprisingly, the ideas was not warmly received. I believe that visionaries are never truly appreciated in their lifetimes.

    The Lady Sparkler and “the maids” have pretty much settled on Aria Bridesmaids as the place to get the dresses. Even my “groomsmaid” is on board … While I was pushing to put Chrissy the groomsmaid in a tuxedo, everybody else thought it would be more “traditional” for her to wear a dress.

    *Sigh.*

    The store they are looking at is online, let’s you pick a color, mails you a sample dress to try-on, and then makes all of the wedding’s dresses out of the same bolt of fabric so they match. All styles of dresses are in play (because they all use the same fabric) so everybody can buy the cut and style of dress that best suits them.

    Lots of the dresses have sashes, but no “rump” bows.

    The main focus (right now) is on color, because the color of the dresses is the next step to deciding the color of the flowers … which is the last, big, un-started project. The finalists are shown above. No word yet, but my money is on the Peacock or the Aubergine. Fabric swatches will be exchanged over Thanksgiving, so more info next month.

  • Wedding: Dueling Dinners


    Beacon Bar and Grill

    Local 16

    We have been scoping D.C. restaurants for the last month or two, working with a very patient, and gracious pair of friends (Sue and Jeremy) to find a couple rehearsal dinner spots that here located close to the church, that served good food, and had space for a private party.

    We are under this strange delusion that we might actually be able to walk from the rehearsal dinner, to the church, to the reception site (which doubles as the hotel) and back. Not sure it will happen, but that’s the goal.

    To make matters more interesting, my family has a strong background in dining (my father was a Chef for a number of years) and so mediocre food does not pass by an Parker unnoticed.

    Finally, D.C. isn’t exactly known for large spaces with plenty of private rooms for parties and events. Especially large spaces with private rooms that don’t look like the basement of the Hinkley Hilton.

    Anyway, what would be the point of the story if there was no happy ending? Probably to make you suffer as we have suffered, but fortunately that isn’t the case… Sue, Jeremy, The Lady Sparkler and I have two possibilities for rehearsal dinner spots that are looking promising.

    The first is the Beacon Bar & Grill, which is located at 1615 Rhode Island (the hotel/reception is one block west). BBG serves what it calls “Fresh Contemporary American Cuisine,” and (in some sort of incestuous irony) plucked its current executive Chef from 15 RIA (our receptions site) about a year ago.

    We took my parents her for a test dinner just this week (my mom was in town for her birthday) and the quality of the food and the service was just great. I had the pasta, and The Lady Sparkler had the fish. The place was a little empty for a Saturday night, but how many restaurants shut down in their first year of business anyway?!? (For the record, 25% in the first year. 60% within three years.)

    The other restaurant in the running is Local 16, a local, slow food, organic restaurant which is about four blocks up 16th street. We will give that a try in January.

  • foliage

    [College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia]
    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    foliage, college of william and mary, williamsburg, virginia

  • Photos: National Zoological Park, Washington, DC

    The National Zoo just opened up a new Asian Trail, and I haven’t had a chance to check it out before today. My parents are in town, and we decided to take advantage of an “indian summer” day by spending it outside.

    The featured image for today’s entry is probably one of my favorites in recent memory. The pattern and the sunlight … Every once in a while you just get lucky.

    Explore the Photo Set:
    National Zoological Park, Washington, DC

  • Wedding: An excuse for total inaction …

    We have been in another bit of a lull, and this one wasn’t entirely our fault — our kitty (Emily) got sick.

    Not the normal, “take two aspirins” sort of sick, but the “in-and-out of the hospital for two weeks, start looking for things to sell to raise money”, wasn’t sure she’d make it through sort of sick

    Fortunately, it looks like she is going to pull through. Unfortunately, she has been on medication, every 8-hours for the last couple of weeks, so it has kind of kept us house-bound (and inwardly focused) a bit.

    We are lightly working on Rehearsal Dinner locations with our foodie-friends Sue and Jeremy, so hope to have good news on that front very, very soon.

  • convio 2006: online aquisition through a “gated” community

    Spoke at the Convio Summit, about how to use a gated community (our Great Places Network) to acquire and engage non-profit supporters online. This includes everything from registration forms, to offline marketing of online resources, to five or six different types of tests around engagement and acquisition strategies.