Cost of Dinner

My sister Julie came into town to celebrate her birthday.  She has a very good friend who is a lawyer whom she stayed with.  I wish I was very good friends with this woman because she gave Julie a whole spa day as her birthday gift.  I need richer friends. :)

Steph, Julie's friend, picked a new restaurant in DC to celebrate Julie's bday.  Julie warned me that it was expensive.  I looked it up and they had something called 'small plates' that are the price of a nice restaurants entrees.  I wanted her to have a chance to meet and interact with Tom without a bunch of people around and for some other reasons we decided to go to dinner beforehand.  We ate at BusBoys and Poets and then headed into DC to this restaurant.  I wanted to see what it was like because they were supposed to have some 'Ooh La, La' dancing for entertainment and it just looked like it would be an interesting experience.

From the outside of the building you would have had no idea that there was a restaurant inside.  It had two floors and was kind of shaped like a stage.  Every thirty minutes or so some people would come out on this second floor stage that was behind glass and dance.  It wasn't exotic, but they would dance to this loud music.  I was disappointed in that.  Julie's friend Stephanie ordered a bottle of champagne that was $750.00.  WOW!  I asked to have a sip.  Since I don't drink, I figured I would never have the chance to try such expensive champagne and I wanted to know what that tasted like.  It tasted fermented and fruitie.  It's really wonderful being a person that doesn't drink!

Tom and I left after being there an hour.  Julie emailed me later and told me that Stephanie spent $5000 on dinner.  I was completely and utterly shocked!!!!!  I could go on an amazing trip that would give me memories for a lifetime on $5000.  I could pay off a chunk of student loans.  I could open up an IRA.  It is just unfathomable to me to spend that much on one night.  Wouldn't it be nice to have that kind of money!!!

Sleep Walking Again

I  have been sleep walking again.  So far I haven't gone out of my room yet. Last night, in my dream, I had some kind of alarm next to my bed and I had to do something to it.  Whatever I was to do it wasn't working so I started to push all the buttons. In reality, by pushing all the buttons the music turned on and I woke up. At first I didn't understand why the music was going off. Then I realized I had woken from my dream and even though I had been sleeping I was physically pushing the buttons on my real alarm clock.

Last week I was dreaming that people from my office were watching me from this space in my wall.  I was up and touching the wall to find the space when I came awake enough to know I was in my room and no one can see me.  Weird!  It doesn't bode well for restful sleep.

I find that if I know I will get enough sleep without having to set my alarm (or I'll naturally wake up before it goes off) then I sleep really well.  Somewhere in my psyche I just don't let myself go deep enough because I know that alarm is going to go off.  I'm not sure how to remedy this because I get to bed early enough (usually), but I still do it.  Grrr!

Mom's Visit

This is going to be just a real brief blog.  I am so behind in updating everyone, but I just haven't had the time.  My mom made these collages of pictures from her trip so I decided to use them because it's quick and easy.  

My mom came into town to meet Tom and spend some time with us.  It was so wonderful having her here.  Tom took us to Richmond one of the days.  It was a very hot day!  My poor mom, she came right when we got the hot weather.  I had never been to Richmond even though I have lived here over eleven years.  It was much better than I expected.  We went to Maymont Mansion/Park.  The mansion on the inside was really beautiful!  The furniture was very interesting and I was surprised at how innovative they were back then.  The Japanese garden was beautiful especially with the waterfall.  They also have a little nature center where we saw many rescued fish, turtles, and otters.  We also went to the Hollywood cemetery where a few president's are buried.  It was a beautiful setting--right over the James river.

My mom and I shopped when she was here. Some for her, some for me.  I had a very large old tv.  One night I turned it to a show my mom likes and she said she just couldn’t watch it because the quality was so bad.  So I was talking into coming into the 21st century and bought a flat screen tv.  The best part about it is that I can watch my ipad on it.  It is very nice to have this big tv that has HD.  I just need to buy a new DVD player now.  My old one wasn’t compatible.  I will have to wait a few months to save up.  Money has been flying out the doors lately! 

Mom and I went to Shenandoah National Park and hiked to two waterfalls.  It was really gorgeous!  We got there early so there weren’t many people (I think we saw three), but when we were coming back there were a lot of people.  It was also mostly uphill on the way back.  I had told mom that we could go hike on the Appalachian Trail because she wanted to say she had done that.  However, after our hike we opted out. :)  We did get yummy shakes though in Sperryville. Yum!!!  We biked another day on the W & O D trail.

We went to a Strawberry Festival, and to two little towns in Virginia called Upperville, and Middleburg.  We did more shopping with Tom in Leesburg and in Great Falls.   I even got some great new plants for my new office and my home. It was really fun having my mom here.  There is just never enough time to do everything!

 

Drenched

I wanted to bike again to work this week and thought Monday might be the best day because I would be all rested from the weekend.  I looked at the weather online and it said there was a 30% chance of rain, but that didn't seem that high.  I didn't turn on the tv so I'm not sure what the news said.  I got up early on Monday and noticed the ground was wet.  I thought-great the rain has already been and gone.  What I didn't realize was that I was going to catch up with it.  Once I got on my bike and had gone a few miles it started to pour!  I was absolutely soaking wet.  I actually enjoy biking in the rain, but with my backpack on with the clothes I planned to wear that day on my back along with other things I didn't want to get wet, I was a little concerned. 

Once I got to the parking garage I was so wet I could wring out my shirt.  My backpack was actually now carrying water that I had to dump out.  When I got on the elevator to go into the building this women got on the elevator with me and gave me the most startled look.  I thought it was hilarious!  I'm glad I could jump start her morning. :)  I got showered and changed (luckily all the contents were dry because I had them in plastic bags and it didn't get through) and was able to take my things over to a laundry facility we have in the building.  So really it all worked out great.  Took a little more time to get all dried out, but it was fun.

New Job--Hurrah!

Many people have asked me how things are going with my new job.  For those of you who don’t know, I got a new job which I started on June 4^th.  I am now working at the FDIC in Arlington.  My title is Instructional Systems Design Specialist.  I will doing much of the same thing I was doing at the FAA, but in a friendlier environment with better benefits. 

So far everything is going really well.  I haven’t really gotten into my job yet as they are introducing me to the FDIC and the departments I will be creating/editing training for.  I have an office with a door which is nice though we are still working on moving furniture and getting the walls painted, etc.  Hopefully they will get that done sooner than later. 

I went from a ten minute commute (from door to door) to a two hour commute round trip.  I know that’s normal for many people here, but it’s quite an adjustment for me.   I am getting up at 5:00 am to drive to the park and ride and catch a bus that takes me to the metro.  Then I take the metro to my office.  The metro is directly across from my office which is very nice.

The other great part is that my office is really close to the Custis trail.  The trail is a biking/walking trail that connects to other trails so you can bike quite a ways.  I decided to be adventurous last week and biked part of the way to work.  If I had biked from my home it would have taken me two hours so instead I drove to the bus station and put my bike on the bus.  The bus dropped me off at the metro and I caught the trail from there.  It was a gorgeous morning to bike!  It didn’t take that long and it was much better than going to the gym and walking on a treadmill.  We have a fitness center at work so I can shower and get ready there.  I can also park my bike in the parking garage so I don’t have to worry about the weather.

It ends up that I know several people who work here including an instructional designer that I worked with at the FAA.  It has made the transition very easy and enjoyable.  We have lunch together and go on walks at lunch.  It was raining yesterday, but we went walking anyway.  She is also going to do my food plan with me so I have someone I’m accountable to.  It will really help me stick to the plan!

Gunston Hall and Wonderful Friends!

Tom has this ability to pick the most perfect days to go on an adventure.  He took me to Gunston Hall on Sunday.  It started out cloudy, but turned into a beautiful sunny day with very little humidity.  Gunston Hall was the home of George Mason who was basically the man responsible for us having a Bill of Rights.  We have both lived in the area for over ten years and have never been.  Once we drove onto the property it was like driving into the country.  All you could see was big open lawn areas and large trees.  It was just gorgeous!

Before going into the house, a nice Texan couple, that were celebrating their thirty-fifth anniversary, took a picture for us.  The demi-flower window above the door was reflected in the house.  The docent explained that the glass tax man didn't go this far out in the country to collect taxes so George Mason had a lot of glass in his home--including his personal closets. 

You can't tell from this picture, but this is a really large house.  The docent gave us a great tour.  The Mason's had nine children that lived into adulthood and they had 59 grandchildren.  Let's just say there are a lot of Masons now.  They had a beautiful view looking over the Potomac River.  You also see the Boxwood (bushes) in the picture.  They were planted by George Mason (or at least he told someone to do it).  They are now dying off.  It's really too bad.  It was cool to think they had been planted by GM. 

So we had had this wonderful day 'in the country' and then as I was leaving Tom's house I got in my car and it wouldn't start.  For those of you who know me well, you know I despise car issues!!!  I immediately called my brother-in-law who is very mechanical.  We held my phone up for him to hear what the noise was.  Later JL told me he thought that was pretty funny.  We all thought it might be the battery so first we tried to jump it.  However, the cables couldn't attach to Tom's car.  So Tom took me to Walmart and I bought a stand alone charger and other tools to try and get the battery out.  When we took the charger back and tried it nothing happened.  I wasn't sure if it was the charger or my battery.  We tried to take off the bolts, but the tools I had bought didn't work.  By then we had been trying to figure out what to do for about two hours and were both pretty much done!  We both had things we had wanted to accomplish that day, but none of them were going to get done.  It was a total bummer!

I thought I would rent a car and drive home and then come back with a friend of mine that I knew had the right tools.  So we were headed in that direction trying to figure out where a close rental company was and then I thought I might know some people who would let me borrow their car.  Long story short, two people were willing to let me borrow their car.  Tom took me to my friends house to get the car and we set up a time to head back over the Tom's the next day with a new battery.

Monday, my friend Norris, with Tom and I as flashlight holders, tool retrievers, and paper towel dispensers, replaced my old battery and it started right up.  I was so relieved!  It meant I didn't need to get it towed and I didn't need to spend hundreds of dollars on getting it fixed.  I felt (feel) so grateful to have had Tom there trying to help me trouble shoot and take me around to do what we could to solve the problem.  I'm grateful for good friends that were willing to let me borrow their cars without hesitation and for Norris who was willing to go over after a hectic day at work and the gym to help us change out the battery.  It actually made the process not so painful--not that I want to have any kind of car issues, but I'm grateful that there are people who are willing to help me.

Cherry Blossoms 2012

We have had a very warm spring which has been heaven!  I love being able to walk around in my flip flops, come home from work and go on a walk around the neighborhood (and have the energy to do so because the sun is out), and just being outside.  I love the new green color of the trees and bushes and the feeling of life returning to the ground, trees, and plants.  We have had a wonderfully warm winter, but it hasn't been 'flip-flop weather', so I am loving this spring.

The downside to the warm temperatures is that the blossoms don't last very long.  The cherry blossoms were only in full bloom for a few days and are now almost all gone.  Tom and I went today to see the blossoms, but when we arrived I wondered if we would see any.  It rained almost all day yesterday and the trees really were lacking in blossoms.  We were able to find a few trees with blossoms still on them. 

This year they have created a tulip garden--I love tulips!  There were many different varieties and colors.  So pretty!  It's nothing like the tulip festivals I've been to, but still it was really pretty and a nice addition to the cherry blossoms.

Tom and I walked all around the tidal basin.  It was the first cool day we have had in weeks.  Neither of us remembered when it had been so cool.  In fact, when I got home, my balcony door was open.  Evidently, I had forgotten to lock it and it had come open at some point.  My house was only 59 degrees.  Burrr!  I'll sleep well tonight!  Anyway, it was a really nice walk.  There weren't tons of people when we were there--a rarity with the cherry blossoms. 

You can't really see it well in this picture, but there is a carpet of pink cherry blossoms.  That was beautiful to see.  When I have been to the cherry blossoms in the past, I always go at full bloom so there are few blossoms on the ground.  This time, sometimes it looked like a light snow was falling (very light :)) with cherry blossoms.  There were cherry blossoms in the water and all over the ground.  I loved the carpet of pink.  It was a perfect Sunday. :)