Washington DC

Last week Jay and I decided to make the 20 hour round trip to visit our friend Levi and Courtney out in DC.

I had never been there, so I totally did the tourist thing complete with a tour book and a camera. I am a History Major and the East Coast is a treasure trove for a history buff like myself, so  I felt a little bit like I was meeting someone really famous the whole time.

We left home Thursday night, stayed in fabulous hotel in Youngstown, OH, and made it to Levi and Courtney's Friday afternoon. We got to see where they lived, we ate some yummy Lebanese food and played some vicious Settlers.

The next morning we rode the metro (underground-Yikes!) to the Eastern market for breakfast and some shopping. (Can you tell Jay thought these giraffes were cool?)

 (This is from the most crammed used bookstore I have ever been in. The owner even gave us a warning when we walked in to beware of falling books)

 We bought fruit at the Eastern market to eat the next day, but we then had to carry it around with us all day. The most memorable piece of fruit was our cantaloupe, Wilson. The picture below is the only shot he made it in, so this is Jay, Wilson and myself in front of the Library of Congress (Wilson is wearing the black bag).

 The botanical gardens.

 Awkward shot in front of the Memorial.

 Our wonderful hosts at the end of the mall (it is under contruction right now)

 Drakes, don't forget pillar number 5!

 Courtney and Levi's church meets in the afternoon, so Sunday morning we went for a hike. The day turned hot, but the hike was super fun.

 Jay showing off.

 I have no idea why this creek was orange.

 We took a trail that was technically closed and this is the reason why. The trail was just a little bit flooded.

So the boys decided to forge the river while the girls took the (high and) dry road. But enjoy their wading adventure.

Thanks Drakes for a fantastic weekend!

I'm not handy, but I try.

Ok, I am the first to admit that I am not the handiest girl in the world. I can follow directions, but I just don't have a great sense about how things work. I am making a concerted effort in this new house to figure things out and become more handy.

The first room Jay and I have decided to tackle is our office. We will probably spend as much time in there as we will in our own bedroom. We took an evening trip to Ikea (very dangerous move), and came home with two desks to help launch our office space. Jay put his together in a morning, but I told him that I wanted to put together mine all on my own as part of my home-owners training.

So after work on Wednesday, I settled myself in to tackle this new project.

A mountain of boxed desks.

 My project- The Lasse

 Taking inventory of my pieces (for the record, Jay was mocking my process at this point)

 My desk even included a drawer-Jay didn't have to deal with a drawer.

 An hour and a half in and the book-shelf portion was done. I was not doing well with time at this point.

Well, it took me 3 1/2 hours (and one very smashed finger) to finish, but I did it! Jay only helped once and it was because he insisted on tightening some of my screws. (For some reason, that last statement sounds dirty - it isn't supposed to be).

So here are some concluding pictures:

 Jay and Chango observing the mess of our office before the desks.

 And the "finished" project. I have that word in parenthesis because we are far from finished, but this shows both of the desks put together.

 The view from the other side of the room.

Paint will be the next step in this room. It is all very beige, but that will be a project for another day.

The new house

(Insert Drum Roll here _____________) Ladies and Gentlemen, here is the moment you have all been waiting for. Some (very rough) pictures of our new house. Please Pardon the mess, we are still working on configuring the rooms, but this will give you a good idea of the house.

Here is our great room area. Appreciate the lovely plaid sectional, but don't judge. It was free and it is really comfy:)

 Eating portion of the great room.

 Our room the first couple of nights- there are less piles now, bedside lamps and different curtains.

 This is our extra room/one-day-baby-room. It is just a holding pen right now.

 Our new washer and dryer (insert sigh of happiness here), and the next shot is Jay and I watching them do their thing. It is amazing, I can do an entire week's worth of laundry in one load.

 Here is the guest room. If you come and visit, this will be where you get to stay!

 This is the workout/craft room. It doesn't look much different at this point.

 The guest bathroom.

 Upstairs hallway looking from the bedrooms to the office.

 The office a week ago - we own a lot of books. That is what is in most of the boxes.

The Kitchen.

 First floor powder room.

 Our front room/entryway. Hopefully one day this will be our dining room.

 Jay's man-cave/the basement.

 Looking in from the front room to the great room.

I will post more pictures later.

Florida!

We were blessed to able to go to Florida for 10 DAYS last month! Here are some pictures from the trip.

(The brand new Disney Dream. Several Hundred yards away and it still couldn't all fit in one shot)

 (in the 80's and perfectly sunny everyday of our trip. I have been going to Florida my whole life and never have I experienced weather as great as it was this year)

 (golfing the "Fairways" - it really was just competitive between Mom and Jay. Dad and I were not quite as lucky as them on that particular night)

 (this picture is for Laura - this is where she stayed when she went to Disney to audition for Ariel)

 (Dad and I were made to be in front of the camera. As for the other two . . . )

Flashback Worst Date Ever!

I find myself at this moment sitting in a coffee shop in Rochester Hills waiting for a young friend of mine to show up. We made this coffee date last week and I am super excited to catch up with her.

Walking into this shop, I felt a strange sense of dread and I had an uncomfortable ache grow inside me. Suddenly, it hit me. I went on one of the worst dates ever in this exact coffee shop.

From where I am sitting, I can see the table where I awkwardly sat for an hour and a half on that fateful night. (an hour and twenty nine minutes too long for that particular date)

***Cue Flashback***

I should have known that night would not turn out well based on how it all began. I was attending OU and was actively involved in Campus Crusade there. I was starting to make a small group of friends and I had high hopes that this was going to be the Christian community I craved.

One night after CRU, a quieter new friend of mine (Let's call him "Bill") approached me and made reference to a previous weekend's Crusade event that we were both at. Bill kept saying how fun it was, and how we should do it again sometime. I agreed to the "fun" of the event and we parted ways for the evening.

After I arrived home, a girl-friend of mine from the group called me up. She was gushing about how happy she was that I had agreed to go out with Bill and that he had been working up the courage to ask me out for weeks.
Oops.
I quickly told her that I had no idea that Bill had asked me out, but that I am always willing to try anything once. More concrete plans were later made for a coffee date with Bill after the next CRU meeting.

Bill was so nervous. He barely said one word to me the whole ride to the Coffee Shop (I had to drive by the way), and when the Coffee girl asked whether we our orders were together or apart and he didn't answer (he was too busy looking at his shoes), I stepped in and firmly stated "Apart".

We took our drinks to the table and I am not sure Bill would have said anything had I not asked him questions about his life, family, interests etc... I left the questions open ended, but he still only graced me with one word answers.

Finally, I asked what his summer plans were. He said he wasn't sure but he was considering coming to SpringHill with me. (Oh boy)

The conversation as I drove him back to his dorm was as non-existent as the ride to the Coffee Shop, and as he got out of the car, he asked me if we could do it again sometime.

I shrugged and shook my head "No". His head dropped as he trudged through the snow to him dorm.

***End Flashback***

In retrospect, Bill was a very sweet guy. He was just shy and I hope that God has blessed him wit a girl who is isn't as intimidating (was that it? I still don't know) as I was.

Now it is your turn. What was your worst date ever? I would love to hear the tale.

Valentines and a Dog Fight

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

And may I take just a moment of your time to brag about my fantastic husband?

Well, I am going to. Jay has always been a romantic guy. When we lived in Lincoln, we lived within a block of a flower shop, and Jay loved to surprise me with beautiful flowers. I think he knew the proprietor of the shop by name. Since we have lived in Michigan, the flowers have been a bit scarce, but today he brought this beautiful bouquet of Tulips. They have been working towards a bloom all day.

In less happy news, Chango was attacked by a Golden Retriever during our run this morning. Neither of us saw it coming. Now for anyone who knows Chango, they know he has zero fight in him. He is the sweetest dog in the world and I couldn't believe this mean golden was trying to (literally) rip his leg off.
(who would want to hurt this little guy?)

 Well, the dog defense skills I learned in Chihuahua kicked in (and perhaps a little Mother Bear instinct) and I kicked this other dog, yelled and made myself huge and loud to frighten it off of my puppy. We survived unscathed physically, but Chango has been very quiet all day.

So in conclusion: Chango, I am sorry for moving you to such a dangerous street.

And.

Jay, I love you and you are my favorite valentine I have ever had.