The Christmas Recap

I sent this list to my parents of things to do while I was in Utah:

to see the Temple Square lights

to go christmas lights hunting - christmas tree lane!!!

to drink hot cocoa by the soft light of the christmas tree

to eat chocolate covered cinnamon bears (homemade?)

to see Les Miserables

to go shopping

to do a puzzle

fondue!

And, as of the last night on vacation, my list stands:

to see the Temple Square lights

to go christmas lights hunting - christmas tree lane!!!

to drink hot cocoa by the soft light of the christmas tree

to eat chocolate covered cinnamon bears (homemade?)

to see Les Miserables

to go shopping

to do a puzzle

fondue!

The lights at Temple Square are divine, simply gorgeous. We went to see the lights directly from the airport, because Christmas lights are just better before Christmas, and I got into Utah Christmas Eve night, so it was really the only time to go. And we had about 20 minutes before Temple Square's gates closed, and 30 more minutes before the lights surrounding the square were turned off. The benefit of going just before the lights turn off? You get the whole square to yourself - it's just you and the 70 sister missionaries walking around. Uncle John met us there and walked around the lights with us for a bit, and it was just magical. Best lights of the season.

The puzzle was ridiculous - it was an "impossible" puzzle, which I learned really means "impossible because it's manufactured to be impossible according to normal puzzle rules. Once I realized I needed to suspend my prior understanding of "pieces fitting together normally," I figured the puzzle out quickly enough. 

Chocolate covered cinnamon bears from Deseret Book - not homemade by me, but homemade by someone, and it's probably more delicious than I would've ever made them.

We went to see Les Miserables, the movie, at 12:20pm one day, and we ended up with 9:20pm tickets - it was the earliest we could get 3 seats together! So here's my feeling about this movie: I liked it a lot. I was inclined to like it from the moment it was announced, and when I go into something with that opinion, it usually holds. But I thought they did a very good job with it, and for the most part, I really enjoyed all the actors and their takes on the characters. In particular, I found myself liking Marius and Cosette more than I usually do, but of course, I still loved Eponine the most of the three - her songs are the best, with such sadness and heartbreak in them. It's hard not to feel an overwhelming compassion and pity for her and the lot she drew in life. And perhaps Russell Crowe's voice didn't quite live up to what I'm used to hearing Javert sound like, but his gravitas as Javert the character was great, so I'll forgive his general lack of power in singing. And Hugh Jackman always wins my heart, so I of course loved him.

In general, 7 of 8 activities completed is not bad! And there's still time for some hot cocoa by the fire and the Christmas tree, so I'm feeling rather fulfilled by this short trip to Utah. My parents have been fine hosts and I've enjoyed seeing my beloved grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. 

So Christmas 2012 was a success! I hope all of your Christmas festivities were as full of cheer and happiness as mine have been!

Tuesday Night Concert Series (A 1-Concert Series...)

I went to a concert Tuesday night.

That's right, I'm not so much of an old lady soul that I can't stay out late at a loud concert mid-week.

Though I have struggled to be awake and attentive all week. Just haven't been able to catch up on sleep since then. Lame.

The concert, however, was not lame. It was killer.

It was the Killers, in fact, so I don't know how it could be any less than killer, by definition.

I don't know if you knew this, but the Killers are totes awesome and kind of the bomb diggity in the mormon mainstream music world. Mainly because Brandon Flowers is mormon and lately started being willing to stand out as a cool person who is also a mormon. So naturally, a number of my fellow DC latter-day saints were looking forward to going to this concert.

I went with 4 friends, ran into 3 other friends, and enjoyed the company of hundreds of fans who, for that very reason, were soon numbered as my friends as well, despite not talking or interacting at all with them. Sometimes friendship means never actually knowing who each other is.

Now, I'm not going to pretend that I'm a huge Killers fangirl who knows all of their songs and listens to them daily. In fact, I kept meaning to listen to their newest album these last few weeks, but I just couldn't switch from my Christmas music. I LOVE CHRISTMAS MUSIC! It was too hard to give up the precious few days of legitimate xmas music time, and ultimately I couldn't sacrifice that time.

But it turns out that I know a number of Killers songs anyway, particularly the ones they played at their concert, so it worked out just fine. Mr. Brightside, Human, and one of my favorites, I've Got Soul, But I'm Not a Soldier were all featured, which I was quite excited about.

Also getting played was a new song, which one friend had been wise enough to play in the car ride over to the Patriot Center beforehand - Don't Want Your Picture on My Cell Phone. Super cheesy - not a favorite of my friends, per se. Yet that one listen allowed me to sing the lyrics of the song while they played, so it may be my favorite. Easy lyrics that you can pick up right away? Yes please! And despite being kind of ridiculous and cheesy, I kind of love it and it's silly sweetness. Judge me all you want.

But my favorite part? It may be a tie. I might have to say the pyrotechnics and confetti rainstorm were great. I would've loved to be in the pit at the moment the confetti was released - having that rain down on me would've been awesome - like I'd just won $1million or something! Since I don't expect that to actually happen in my life, I would've been just fine with a mock experience of it. And the pyrotechnics were great - the first time they blasted off was in the middle of the song, right when they said "atomic bomb." Too perfect or too perfect? And then they went crazy during the last song of the encore.

Speaking of, that would be my other choice for favorite part - after they walked off the stage following their main show, the crowd stayed cheering for them for about 5 minutes (felt like 5 hours!) - maybe 10 minutes, I guess I don't really know - and then they slowly lumbered back on the stage, took up their instruments, and proceeded to play another 3 or 4 songs, with my Soul/Soldier song leading the way (I may be making that up, but I'm pretty sure that was the first song...it's been a few days, okay??? Lay off!). Anyway, it was a good encore, and considering that I had just told my friend that all I wanted for Christmas was an encore - seriously, it felt like it took them forever to come back on stage... - they got me a pretty nice, elegantly wrapped present. Thanks Killers!

And then our favorite in-the-world-and-perhaps-a-little-of-the-world mormon Brandon Flowers (BF for those of us who like to pretend he's also our BF and not a husband and father...I'm not one of those people, but I have some friends...) personally hugged his adoring fans at the front of the pit, all the way across. And the security detail behind him manhandled him across the row, to make sure he didn't get eaten alive by the 30- and 40-year-old women who were screaming at him. Seriously, my friend and I were intrigued by the older audience. Not old, but older - we were some of the younger fans still. A lot of people were reliving their late college glory years Tuesday night.

I don't know why, but this was probably my favorite picture of the night. Good job BF and Killer Co.! Two thumbs up! Hurrah and hurray! Brava!

Anyway. It was a good concert. 500 words later, you get the point. I had a fun time with my boys from the decaying rose of the desert, Las Vegas. Brandon's my lds homeboy, and no one's hair caught on fire from the open flames of the sweet pyrotechnics (which can't also be said for my friend Lance's fancy Holiday Gala at his house the other weekend...things get crazy at fancy attire parties, y'all.)

Thanks Killers! Two thumbs up! And now it's time for me to finally catch up on the sleep I lost from that Tuesday night out. My ears and head stopped ringing a little while ago, so this is the last lingering ailment of a great night.

An Ode to My Mother on Her Birthday

This is me and my mom. She kind of really great. I like her a lot.

Today is her birthday. If I was a really great daughter, I'd have picked out the perfect present and sent it to her a month ago, with the admonition NOT TO OPEN IT until her birthday. Which she'd then ignore huffily and open it, because no one's going to tell her what to do! That is, she'd do that if she was anything like her eldest son, Chris.

But she's not, so she'd wait until her birthday, and then she'd open her present and it'd be perfect, and we'd be talking about it for 365 days (or 366 days, as 2013 is a leap year, of course), until her birthday next year, when I'd get her the perfect present again, and blah blah blah, etc etc etc.

But I'm just merely a great daughter, so this is my present this year. My gift to my mother - some words and a blown up picture of a head shot that I think is darling of us, but that she may not like, I don't know. But I thought I'd take advantage of what I'm good at, and gift-giving is not a strong suit of mine.

And let's be honest - I want to give my dear mother something awesome, but really all I can think is how she's given me quite a lot in my life:

My love of crossword puzzles.

Her hot vintage burgundy leather boots (maybe 1.5 sizes too small, but I still wear them when my feet can take it...)

The last piece of pie/cake/brownie/etc. on any given occasion.

My half curly/half frizzy hair. Thanks.

An ice cream cake for my latest birthday. The best.

My favorite Spring and Fall jacket. You know the one. Blue and green geometric shapes. AKA my irresistibility cloak. Opposite of an invisibility cloak - when I wear it, people can't take their eyes off me. Proven fact.

My green eyes (through her blue eyes and her mom's green eyes - so, genetics. I'm giving her credit for genetics here).

The strange and sometimes annoying habit of rearranging letters in words to make other words. Honestly, I lose focus on my surroundings sometimes because I get so distracted by the mental rearranging. It has its perks, though - I'm extremely good at Text Twist and similar games.

My love of reading - particularly of historical fiction. She's the reason I love the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Silk Vendetta. She gave me my first taste of Victoria Holt historical fiction. Bless her soul.

On that note - when I read Pride & Prejudice for the first time in high school, I stayed up until 2am finishing it. When I was done, I came out of my room and found mom on the computer - she couldn't sleep, so she was playing a card game. I immediately started gushing about the book and she smiled and laughed, reminiscing on the same feelings she had when she first read it. We loved Mr. Darcy together and that validated my future crushes on literary characters.

Mom also gave me an eye for interior design - put more broadly, it's an ability to see and create beauty. She taught me how to make something look beautiful. She taught me how to decorate a house. She taught me how to plant flowers.

Mom taught me how to do math - basic math equations as distraction during church. Who does that? My mother. And I loved it. Too bad that love didn't last long past Algebra I.

She taught me how to paint. And more particularly, she taught me how to peel off wallpaper. How'd she do that, you ask? By having me peel the wallpaper off my bedroom walls, her bedroom walls, and anywhere else we found wallpapered walls. I'm really good at peeling off wallpaper with just a spray bottle of water and a paper peeler. None of those fancy steaming machines for me! Sweat and tears, that's how a real girl peels wallpaper. Mom taught me that.

My mom once taught me how to make fudge. It's been important twice in my life, and that makes it important enough to mention here.

I got A LOT of other things from my mom, but I suppose the most important thing is that I got a really good sense of self from her. I got a strong self-confidence from her, because I knew that she loved me for exactly who I am, and because she saw the best in me. I got a good sense of humor because she laughed at my jokes. I gained a love for womanhood because she is an amazing woman. I have a deep and abiding love of family from her because she's my family, and I love her dearly.

Happiest of birthdays, mother dear! I love all 3 dimensions of you!

Miss Turkeypalooza 2012: the Talent Portion

Turkeypalooza 2012 took place in the not-so-frozen tundra of Elkhorn, Wisconsin. With a balmy first half and frigid second half, I feel privileged to have enjoyed a microscosm of the 4 seasons in Wisconsin in the span of 7 days.

I got a good solid week of paloozing, which I'm really grateful for - it's hard to get around my entire family and feel satisfied with just a day or two. Though I only got that much time with a few siblings anyway, it was still so much fun and so worth it.

And my family and I have had some good paloozas in my lifetime, but the Miss Turkeypalooza Pageant 2012 was rather epic. Consider the following:

I bore my testimony at church the next Sunday (Fast Sunday), and the introduction to my main testimony contained a teaser of the ridiculous amount of fun I had over that week, as I started with, "while I was with my family over Thanksgiving...long story short, we ended up having a talent competition." I appreciated the people I spoke to afterward who recognized the special nature of this event, in that while most families may have a generic talent show, ours was, of course, a competition - complete with a Golden Microphone and other awards. You aren't named Miss TP without putting in a little work.

Here's just a snippet of some of the great performances from the Talent competition - having an acute egomania in one eye, I had to post the video of my competitive number. It wasn't as polished as I'd like, but I thought it held up well enough in the Young Adults pool. My dad of course won the Over 55 pool, with a solid performance in storytelling - he went with a classic that he always shines in. And in the Youth pool, it was a fight to the finish with a great tumbling act, a darling Barbie and the Diamond Castle cover, and a flowing original rap that was buuuuuuuck.

Obviously, the overall winner was one of our young ones, who all were so polished and amazing. Their preparation was evident, and they just seemed really invested in their performances.

Here's a look at some of the highlights, which you might have missed:

Walter, Over 55 competition:


Kate, Young Adult competition:


Ben & Laura sang "The Confrontation" from Les Miserables, but my recorded version of it is a little dark, so it didn't turn out well - so here's a substitute. It basically sounded like this anyway (this is awesome, right?!):

Taken from this awesome Vulture blog post - you'll want to keep up with it this month)

I'm awaiting the rights to my niece's sweet rap, so that video is hopefully to come. We'll see.

Basically though, my family is like America's Got Talent: Best Of edition. So many exciting and varied acts! How can you choose a winner amongst them all??

Another niece ultimately took home the Golden Microphone, but it was well-deserved. A fully committed, pitch-perfect cover of "Connected" from Barbie and the Diamond Castle is hard to beat. A few of my favorite songs may or may not be from that movie anyway. Don't judge.

And the Turkey Talent Competition was only one portion of our Palooza Pageant. We also had the Athletic wear portion, where Lulu the dog and I were faithful runners for the first half of the week - the balmy weather half - and Chris and Caleb were the only ones to follow through and actually run the 5k Turkey Trot (I was just so tired! Staying up until 2am 3 days in a row is rough on a girl's energy levels...though those nights qualify as the question segment of the pageant. Great answers given by all contestants), and the uber-impressive team competition, in which the Barlows laid the smack down in volleyball against the visiting team of another family. I mean, we're just kind of naturally talented in sports, so it's hard for us to play and not just whoop other people silly in these kinds of situations...#humblebrag.

Did I mention we also had a sing-along? That's new for the Barlow crew, but we even rocked that - case in point: Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain." We brought the house down on that song, if only for the two chorus lines that were all most of us knew...we sang our hearts out for those two lines. Props to Jodi for being a wonderfully talented accompanist on the piano I covet when I'm sitting around my piano-less house.

And, in the evening wear portion of the Palooza Pageant, it was just no contest - little Libby Lou Who was stunning in her glass slippers and her gown, which was made by friendly mice and tame birdies. She also dazzled in her tutus, as did the other balletwear-obsessed nieces.

Despite great showings by all 23 contestants, I'm proclaiming Miss TurkeyPalooza 2012 to be...

Miss Lulu Snaggletooth Barlow!

Because how do you deny such a sweetheart top honors? Lulu wins best in show for deciding we need to be besties all week, and for following me everywhere, and for making me want a dog for the first time in my life. That's pretty impressive.

Well, folks, thanks for tuning in. Such a great Miss TurkeyPalooza pageant this year. Thanks to everyone for showing up and stepping up. So many pictures of fun times that I'm wading through, trying to organize. I love when the Barlows unite. We're all winners here!

The lovely Youth pool contestants wish you and yours sweet dreams filled with pink snuggles and photo-bombing cheeses.

P.S. Remember when youngest contestant Zoey played coy all week long with everyone and then, right as Barlows Rolla were getting ready to rolla out, she came to me and gave me the sweetest snuggle, complete with her head on my shoulder, and made everyone jealous because she loved me the most?? I remember that. That made the highlight reel.

A Productive Saturday, In a Different Way than Planned

I went to bed last night with the greatest of intentions for today. Truly I did.

I was going to get some good rest, wake up at a decent hour, clean my room and my house, go grocery shopping, maybe head out for a run, get myself cleaned up a bit, and then go see the Holiday Boat Parade of Lights on the Potomac River.

Well, after sleeping in to what I still consider a decent hour, though it was a little later than planned (my eyes would not open), I did get up and start cleaning. I partially made my bed. I got the kitchen in at least decent shape. And I sat down to eat breakfast and saw that a favorite movie of mine was on tv, so I thought I'd watch a little while - and then I'd go back to my plans for the day. We were meeting at 5pm for the boat parade, and I had a lot to do before then.

My show was getting close to ending, and I was working myself up to moving on, and then my downfall came.

A Lifetime Christmas movie.

Last year, it was the Hallmark holiday movies. I could not get enough of their cheese and sap.

Today, it was Recipe for a Perfect Christmas. Made in 2005.

The sudden arrival of her mother near Christmas sends an amateur food critic's life spiraling.

Who wouldn't get sucked in by that tagline?!

Well, 2 hours later, I'm still sitting on my couch, giggling from the made-for-tv holiday sappiness and the general illogical giddiness I get from cute, happy movies.

I just can't help it - I get so excited to see two meant-for-each-other people overcome the self-inflicted problems that keep them apart!

And I've found that, since the main audience for Hallmark and Lifetime is women, the self-inflicted problems are usually only the woman's problems. Art imitating Life!

Not really. But it's the holidays, so reality doesn't exist for 25 days - hurray!

Personally, I can never follow how in the world two complete strangers can have fallen in love so suddenly and truly, and I'm always surprised at how bothered I am by that senselessness in the middle of these shows - it's a movie! A made-for-tv movie! A movie the channel's company had to put together in 10 days! Who cares how they fall in love - so long as they do by the end of 90 minutes!

And that's exactly what I'm shouting through my smile and joy come the end of the movie.

90 minutes later, the woman who only has time for her profession and can't be bothered with love or makeup or clothes or fun has healed her broken relationship with her ridiculous mother and has fallen in love with the gorgeous Greek chef, whom she had earlier coerced into taking out her mother in order to keep her out of our protagonist's way!

Wait, what?!

Yeah, it's weird to say out loud.

But it's such a good movie, y'all!

I can't wait for it to be on again. You know I'm rearranging my schedule to watch it again.

And I'm forcing my roommates to watch it with me.

Just doing my part to spread the Christmas cheer!

Mixed Feelings About Today

So today it became official that my boss is the new chairman of a house committee. It's a pretty big deal. We found out yesterday, but it was ratified and finalized today. The office has been pretty excited and exciting since yesterday afternoon.

Today I also chatted with my old boss's successor, who happened to pop into our office today. I met him months ago, in the old office, and while he didn't remember that meeting (obviously - why would he?!), he was very sweet and chatted with me for a few minutes on his way out. Such a nice guy, I'm excited for him to be out here, and hope for only the best for him.

Today I also got a phone call from a congressman - like, he personally called the office and asked to speak to me. ME! My intern had to repeat that a few times before I understood and believed it. He was calling regarding something he had spoken to my boss about earlier, so it wasn't just because he knew I was a great conversationalist (although he knows now!), but still. How many of you have had congressmen call your office and ask for you specifically? That's what I thought.

And then today I came home from work with a terrible migraine and just wished my head would explode already. That pressure and the waiting for the explosion is just the worst. I barely made it home without dying on the metro, embraced the cold air I had just cursed out hours before, and then landed on my bed and took a 20 minute nap before having to get up and go somewhere.

So...I have mixed feelings about today. Socializing with congressmen? Cool. Feeling a jackhammer digging into the back of your skull? Not cool. And if that's going to be the result of socializing with congressmen from here on out - NO THANK YOU. I can do without it.

In other news, my niece's friend, Gingy Man, will be visiting me soon and I CAN'T WAIT to show him around. He's going to make everyone want to visit me in DC after they see all the swag he comes home with. Just. You. Wait.

Grunting, For Lack of a Better Word, is Good

I came home from work today to find this little gem taped to my bedroom door:

It seems my roommate finds my random grunts and heavy sighs funny, and all she could think of when she saw this article was that I needed to know how they may help me be stronger.

Which, duh, I already knew.

But now, whenever you people laugh at my grunts and sound effects when I play volleyball (they insist they think it's a cute quirk...) or ultimate frisbee, or walking around the house, know this: I could beat you in an arm wrestling match any day. Just be glad my super grunt-strength isn't directed at you this very moment!

In another thought, completely appropos of nothing related to the above, I have some stocked up credits and free money (dolla dolla bill, y'alls) at Audible, so throw out some books I need to listen to (stills seems weird to say that...). Or some narrators I need to know. If only Jim Dale read more than the Harry Potter books and a handful of other stories! I'd be set for life if he'd just narrate every book for me...

And Abby, a personal narration of Roald Dahl's Esio Trot will perhaps be on it's way to you sometime in the near or distant future - remember that time you visited home from college and made me read that out loud to you?! I do. It was ridiculous. Mainly because I actually fulfilled that absurd request. We're awesome.

I'm a Navy Girl! Go Goats!

I went to a Navy football game on Saturday. First football game I've been to in forever.

I learned a few things from the game:

1. I love football. I need to go to more football games. I already knew this, but I needed the reminder.

2. It's cold in November. I might not have been able to feel my big toes all that well when I left the game, despite wearing 2 pairs of socks and boots. 50 degrees just isn't as warm as I'd like.

3. I love cheering. Also a known fact, but I love to yell and cheer. It took me a little bit to get fired up and going, but when Navy scored their first touchdown, I was ready to get cheering. Jump onto my feet from the bench, yelling as loud as possible. From the 3rd row from the top. I think the players heard my support still.

4. When Navy scores, the students (cadets?) on the side line spread out and do 6 pushups. Is that a general tradition in all armed forces football games, or just Navy? I like it, either way.

5. The Navy's mascot is a goat. Not a ram. A Goat. And their fight song is "The Goat is Old and Gnarly." I'll give them bonus points for uniqueness, because that's one strange idea for a song. And beloved, from the joy I heard in the voices of the fans while they sang.

6. Annapolis is charming. Can't wait to see it a little better in the daytime sometime.

And here are some pictures for you. I wore my blue hat to keep my ears warm and to support Navy. My blanket was also navy. I like to blend in with the real fans as much as possible - I think my cheers carry more weight when I put more effort in like that. Also I would've gotten a picture of our whole group, but I was sitting in the middle, and I just couldn't get up to get the picture - too cold for unnecessary movement...

 The halftime performance was from the Cheerleaders of America - such cute little girls! GO NAVY!

 Me and my friend Amber. She was my friend because I shared my blanket with her. BFFs!

 my friend's game food - loaded nachos. Intense.

The group that didn't leave at the end of the 3rd quarter. My teeth look ridiculously white. They aren't really that bright. I mean, they're alright and all, but they're not Ross Geller white...yikes.

Love a Good Letter from the Post!

I love getting mail - the good kind, more specifically. I don't care about Discover's consistent courting of me to get their credit card, I don't pay much attention to the barrage of nearby restaurants' menus, and I obviously hate getting bills, bills, bills.

BUT, there are very few things better than finding an envelope in the mail from a good friend.

And I got one of those today! Especially when they include a super cute school picture (I love that teachers still get to take school pictures!), a fortune teller miracle fish, and not one, but TWO sweet notes.

It's even better when it comes on just the right day, when you need a good pick-me-up.

Michelle, just move out here already! And I love the picture - it's going in a frame as soon as I can find one :).

Getting fun mail is the best! Who's with me?

P.S. According to the fortune telling miracle fish, I'm in love, and almost passionate (it didn't curl up quite entirely, but pretty much). So I guess I'm almost passionately in love - I cannot wait to find out who it will be for! He's going to be one lucky guy.

My Hurricane Holiday

Since moving to the East Coast, I've now experienced an earthquake and a hurricane - two natural disasters I had previously not had in my weather repertoire. I was out of town for the hurricane last year, so I'm a little behind, but I'm okay with it.

Over the weekend, we were warned that we'd be visited by Hurricane Sandy, dubbed "Frankenstorm" by the media in the early stages - but seemingly scrapped after sounding too frivolous and flippant about a storm that planned to wreak havoc all over the place - I'd say it's more fitting, but I guess we must respect Mother Nature and use their Christian names when talking about her rampaging daughters. No one was sure how badly it would hit the upper east coast, but no one wanted to be the reason people weren't prepared for a massive storm, so everyone was told to over-prepare and hope the media was all hyperbole in its warnings. Some people complain about how these storms get over-hyped, but I don't really mind, for a few reasons:

1. Better to plan for the worst, and get the best;
2. I got two days off of work from it.

Okay, so just 2 reasons, but both are completely valid and strong. I'd much rather we get prepared for the worst, so if the storm's weaker than planned, there's some room for error about anything else. What if they said it would be a mild storm, and then the storm is rather mild, but for 20 minutes, the wind is strong enough to throw a car around? No, I'd rather plan for an hour of powerful winds and just get 20 minutes of it, than to plan for medium strength winds and get 20 terrible minutes of deadly winds. You know? I'm all about "better safe than sorry."

Also, I really needed some time off work and to myself. I feel like I've been worn thin with obligations and social calls and meetings and responsibilities, and I really needed a day to myself, where I could sleep in and lounge in bed and do nothing - or whatever I felt like doing. All in my pajamas. With no makeup on. Without seeing anyone. I usually like to have at least Saturday morning like that, and I haven't even gotten that in the last few weeks. It's just been go go go, and I was exhausted. And then, I was told that our office was going to be closed on Monday! And on Tuesday! It was a miracle, wrapped up in a natural disaster.

Because I live in a spot that seems to get skipped over by the big effects of hurricanes apparently, I got to enjoy two quiet days of peace and relaxation, where I just snuggled up in my bed and watched movies and tv shows, and just hung out. Honestly, we probably could've gone back to work Tuesday, but I'm guessing the city wanted that day to check the areas and make sure there was nothing big they had to clean up before starting up the metro again and getting everything up and running again (totally fine by me). So I got my time to rest and recharge. It was beautiful.

My mom checked on me to make sure I was cozy and safe, with a good book to curl up in. My brother Ben, the amateur meteorologist, checked on me to make sure I was safe inside while the powerful 30 mph and growing winds swirled outside - no doubt he was following the storm via the Weather Channel and various news sites all day, tracking its course and strength as it spun northward. My sister Abby checked on me to make sure I was safe and that I was coming to Chicago for Christmas (mixed priorities, I totally understand). And a few friends checked on me to see if I had power - which I did. Turns out they didn't, so apparently it was on their minds. Weird.

So my first hurricane experience wasn't too bad at all. I'd rather not experience a worse one, though. My thoughts and prayers go out to those in New York and New Jersey who lost property or belongings from the havoc the hurricane caused up north. Hopefully they were at least all safe and evacuated away from their homes. And I hope the devastation can be cleaned up relatively quickly. Being displaced sucks, so fingers crossed it won't last too long for them.

And now it's Halloween, and I don't think it's quite as festive as usual - the after-effects of a giant storm, I suppose. But I'm {not so} secretly happy our trick-or-treating numbers are down a little this year: more chocolate for me!

Don't look at me like that. I just survived a hurricane. You battle Frankenstorm and I'll give you chocolate, too.

Halloween 2012 - Ushering in a New Phase of Life

Minutes before leaving for a big Halloween Dance Friday night, I teased this picture of my costume:

Now the last few years, I've been some variation of the Night Sky/the Milky Way (the stars, not the candy bar)/the Cosmos:

And I think it's safe to say that teaser picture above doesn't really look like an rendition of a starry night, unless that starry night has gone absolutely loco.

Nope, after 3 years of the Night Sky, I've moved to my next brilliant costume idea - Crazy Cat Lady:

Great idea, right?! I planned on wearing pajamas and a robe and having cats all over, but in my time crunch, I came up with only 3 cats (note the one in my big bag - totally borrowed it from a house of full of guys...which seemed weird to me that they had a stuffed kitty. But whatever). And none of the pjs and robes I found were doing it for me. And then - then this beautiful, soft, wool cape sweater caught my eye as I walked through the plus-size section of TJ Maxx. It's a 1x, and while I swear I can still wear a medium in regular women's sizes, I feel like I could wear that sweater/jacket out and have it no be too ridiculous. It's amazingly warm and so comfortable, so I just might...which is a scary thought that my halloween costume might soon become my normal daily wear.

But then I thought - I'm still kind of young. So I'll be the crazy cat lady who still goes out in society sometimes. I think it worked out just great, actually. And I had my big purse, so I also felt kind of like a bag lady, with 2 of my precious kitties stored in it.

Also, the glasses might have been the best part. I loved them. I want to wear them all the time. They perfectly highlighted my too-brightly rouged cheeks and sketchy eye makeup. And thanks to former roommate Melissa for teasing my hair so nicely - on one side. And for flattening it on one side of the back - it's the little details. The bows were another nice little detail.

At one point during the night, my hair started to flatten a bit, so my friend gave me a little head massage to give it some height and texture again - WIN-WIN! Except he lost, because his hand was sticky from hair product after that...

And the slippers on my feet? Leopard print. In my husky smoking voice, I claimed to any passers-by who cared to listen (so no one) that they were my first cat. When he died, I wanted to keep him close. So I made these slippers. And I always wear them. So he's always with me. A bit macabre? Perhaps. And yet, I'm wearing them right now, as I type this up. There's a little bit of truth in every good lie, I hear.

But guys, I rocked this outfit. Seriously. I looked so good. A Hot Mess was what Melissa called it - which must be good, because she said I was HOT. I had a lot of people complimenting me during the evening. Usually repeatedly - most people had to tell me a few times how great it was, because once just wasn't sufficient. And I got to do whatever I felt like all night, because it was part of the act - I WAS CRAZY! It was awesome. 

So I took a lot of pictures, but many of them were not my pictures, so I don't have them. Which is too bad, because I wish I could share so many of them. But you'll have to deal with the ones I took with my own camera. And my cute orange tabby, Mr. Cotton, photo-bombed a lot of pictures. He's just so photogenic and such a ham. He had to be involved in everything.

Here's the collage from my pre-dance photo shoot:

Meaning of each picture's emotions, clockwise from top left: normal face; "HELLLLLLLLOOOOOO!!!"; cat lady sexy face; pensive, considering "what is a cat? An animal by any other name would shed as thick."

Roommates! So check this out: a giraffe, cat lady, and replacement referee walk in to a bar...

A brother from the Jackson 5, a 20's flapper girl, and a crazy lady and her cat.

 The teeth was my favorite part of her costume.

 Indiana Jones! He saved my poor kitty, Mr. Cotton, from the dangers of the dance floor once or twice (not really - Cotton's got mad dance moves!)

These friends of mine came dressed as each other, with name tags so it could be a little more obvious. But they dress so alike everyday anyway that they could've just come as twins. Mr. Cotton liked them though, so we hung out with them for a bit)

By the end of the night, all 4 of us were completely tuckered out. Jimmy and Marie (below) were pretty tired all night and slept in my bag on the outskirts of the dance floor.

 But Mr. Cotton was a dancing machine and stuck with me all night! He made lots of friends and was really well-mannered all night. He worked hard to show me that he can come out with me more often.

 One of my friends commented how much she liked my costume, and I responded that it was really comfortable and I was really happy with it, and that I can't wait for this to be my life. Compassionately, she commented that since I saw the irony in the outfit and could have such fun with it, she didn't worry that I would actually end up as a crazy cat lady.

To which I countered, "Actually, this outfit may make me work harder to get there faster - this is seriously the best! I really am so excited to get to this phase of life!"

And then she gave up and walked away, realizing I was indeed a lost cause.

Ma & Pa & Me!

Mom and Dad came to visit me in Washington, DC, for the first time since I moved here! Hurray! I finally talked them into it, and 2 weeks ago, they made their way to see me and my 'hood.

I pulled out the stops for them, too, during their visit. While they were here, we:

• ate thai food at Mai Thai, in trendy Dupont Circle
• walked around the Capitol, as I gave them a tour according to the knowledge I remembered from when my friend Berkley was in town a couple weeks before (it wasn't much...)
• walked 22 floors of stairs to the top of the Capitol Dome - it's an awesome view of DC from up there!
• ate at Good Stuf, a delicious and popular burger joint in stuffy Capitol Hill
• toured the Library of Congress and the Botanical Gardens (they did - I had to work...)
• ate at some place in Crystal City, which was good, but obviously not amazing if I already forgot the name of it...but my butternut squash ravioli was delicious.
• explored Eastern Market, where I got a cute green pashmina scarf - I only get my scarves there these days.
• roamed the grounds of the White House, in an orderly, designated walkway sort of roaming, for the White House Fall Garden Tour.
• spent Saturday night apart as I went to Stake Conference for church, and they relaxed from 2 crazy days I had just put them through.
• drove around the National Arboretum and wished it stayed open past 5pm.
• Ate at a pizzeria in fashionable Old Town/Del Ray.
• Slurped up some delicious Wisconsin-style Frozen Custard at Dairy Godmother.
• Said a sad farewell, as I returned to my normal life and ma & pa made headed off to Williamsburg.

All in all, it was a fabulously exhausting 4 days with the parents, and I'm so glad they finally visited!

As usual, dad took most of the pictures (though he got a cold halfway through the trip, and he didn't take his usual amount of one thousand photos, so...you know it was a bad cold.) At any rate, you're going to have to make due with the few random pictures from my phone and blackberry below:

The view of the Dome's interior, halfway up the stairs to the top.

The people below - so small!!!

The painting - the Apotheosis of George Washington - from directly next to/below it. It's giant, y'all.

Mom at the top of the Dome! She was such a trooper up the many narrow, dizzying stairs - way to make it! I love your hair!

Another view from the top of the Dome - the building on the left: the Library of Congress; on the right: my old office building. The space in the center? That's where I played with my old chief of staff's bulldog puppy last summer...memories...

 Don't they look so happy to be on the metro? With me?!

 Mom and Dad and the White House. You wouldn't even know that half the people in the world were walking the grounds with us at the same time.

Live music at Eastern Market. These guys were good, and played for a long time. I love street music.

Okay, that's all I've got for you. Thanks for coming to visit Mom and Dad!

Walking Down the Autumnal Memory Lane - So Vibrant!

I went on a short Nature stroll this morning with a friend, basking in the bright-to-fading Autumn colors we're so abundantly blessed with on the East Coast. I also took a quick walk to a friend's house a few blocks away, to return something I'd borrowed earlier. With the soft sunshine and slight breeze, the 65 degree day has been so beautiful, and I think we all feel this urge to get as much time outside as possible, before winter blankets us in dreary coldness.

(Plus, Hurricane Sandy, aka "Frankenstorm," according the weathermen here, is freaking everyone out and will probably ruin our beautiful weather for the next week...rude! So everyone's getting outside like it's the last time they'll ever breathe fresh air again - because who knows, it might be.)

As I walked back from my friend's house and got to my street, the leaves piled up on the side of the road from brooms and leaf blowers clearing yards of the fallen foliage, I thought back to the Autumns in Wisconsin, how we gathered the leaves in our backyard and how beautiful they were after they'd just fallen off the tree, still rich in their reds, oranges, and yellows, not yet sapped of their moisture and life, not yet dry and brown and broken. I shuffled through the leaves on the side of my street now, wondering if I ever really played in leaf piles growing up - did I ever really jump in a pile of leaves, scattering them everywhere? It was usually so cold by the time they fell, I raked them as quickly as possible, muttering my frustration and chilliness about this chore I found completely unnecessary. I didn't think playing in leaves was nearly as fun in real life as it seemed in cartoons and comic strips. But as my feet sloshed through these leaves today, one memory rose up - the memory I always go back to when I think of Autumn:

One day, when I was about 9 or so, my brother Zach and I were asked by our mom to rake the leaves in the backyard. We had a lot of trees clumped together by our house, and that spot in particular was in great need of clearing. It was a normal Fall day - overcast, cool, with a wintery chill in the light wind. We donned some warm layers, pairs of gloves, and thick socks, and, likely grudgingly, made our way to the backyard to rake up the leaves. Mom came out and helped us for a bit in the beginning, and it went quickly - we had raked up more than half the area by the time our noses were pink. Then mom left us to finish raking while she went inside and finished some other things.

Zach and I got a really great leaf pile going - it was huge. We combined the little piles we'd made with mom, so there was a pile the size of a bed, rising almost up to my waist. It was beautiful to my young eyes. Gone was the cold, the exhaustion, the arm aches, the annoyance. Our hard work had created a mass of leaves that was bigger than me!

As we gazed at our accomplishment, Zach said, "You know what would be really great?" Assuming that whatever he said would inevitably be the best idea I'd ever heard in my life, as it always was with my older siblings, I asked, "what?"

"What if we bury you in the leaves to hide, and I'll go get mom, and when she comes out, you pop out and surprise her?!"

It was, in fact, the best idea I'd ever heard in my entire life.

I quickly agreed to it.

Since the pile was bigger than my whole body, it was a pretty simple task hiding me in it. I laid down in the leaves and Zach piled more on top of me, so I was covered, but could still jump out easily. He left a nice hole for me to breathe through, then left me to hang out by myself, not moving, while he ran inside to get mom and bring her out "to inspect our work."

So I laid there, not moving, but giggling to myself as I imagined how scared my mom would be when I jumped out at her. In my mind, it was going to be awesome.

9-year-olds aren't usually known for their patience, and after awhile, I began to get antsy, wondering why it was taking Zach so long to get mom outside. I thought it over and considered that it'd take some time to get inside, then he'd have to located mom, persuade her to come outside, right away, and then for her to find her shoes and jacket and come out. So I needed to have more patience than 5 minutes' worth, which I'd assumed had already passed. My ability to judge time has always been poor, so I didn't really trust my instincts in how long I'd been out there anyway; I might've been laying in the leaves anywhere between 2 minutes and 25 minutes at that point.

So I laid there a little longer, not moving, but really wishing I could scare mom already!

Finally, my patience was completely worn out, and my cold, stiff body could no longer remain hiding in the leaves, with just the wind to keep me company (though the wind has been a good friend of mine since childhood - I've always loved it). So I worked my way out of the leaves, disturbing the pile as little as possible, and went inside to track down my brother and tell him our plan was a failure. I had hoped to find him trying to push mom out to the backyard, while she was trying to finish an important chore.

Instead, I found them both in the office upstairs, Zach showing mom how to do something on the computer - that something being something that was completely unimportant and totally non-urgent.

!!!!

I had been left in that pile of leaves for 45 minutes, according to the clock, while mom and Zach enjoyed the warmth of our home and the comforts of modern technology.

As I quietly walked into the room, neither of them looked at me at first, both absorbed in what they were doing. Then Zach, feeling my presence behind him, turned around toward me,and a sheepish grin spread across his face, which confirmed my deepest fear:

I had been forgotten underneath the leaves.

It wasn't the first time I was forgotten and left somewhere, and, as the youngest child in our large family, it definitely wasn't the last time. But it left its mark on me -

I never trusted anyone again when they mentioned playing hide-and-seek, or suggested anything that left me to hide by myself.

And I never played in large leaf piles again.

The Halloween Season is Upon Us

We are on the brink of the annual end-of-the-year-holiday-extravanganza!

Halloween-Veterans Day (I count it, now that I have a government job that gives me it off!)-Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Years.

I have certain traditions for certain holidays. Halloween is one of those certain holidays. Like with Independence Day, when I have to watch the enthralling President's speech from the fabulous movie, aptly titled, Independence Day, I have a certain video clip that I have to watch in preparation for Halloween:



That's right, Ellen's scare montage, where she shows clips of the various people she scared over the last year (2010).

This seriously makes me laugh out loud every time I watch it. EVERY TIME! It truly feels like Halloween after I've viewed this. Even when I feel the need to watch it in March - it feels like Halloween.

As a backup video, this also sends me into spastic giggle fits, too (warning - there are a few swearing bleeps, already bleeped - she's scared pretty $@!#less though, in fairness):



Nothing like a montage to get you into the holiday spirit.

As a complete aside, I had a peppermint shake tonight at dinner - just doing what I can to get prepared for the holiday blitz.

Indexing is Fun!

I am the newest member of the Indexing Community, as of an hour ago tonight.

And I won't lie, I'm SO EXCITED!

I've already indexed/transcribed 2 names of veterans from wars during 1912, and now I'm working on a ship passenger list from 1932 - which is an easy one because it was typed out before. No crazy handwriting to have to work out just yet.

I'm, of course, starting on beginner level - because I need to ease into this. You start off too difficult and you never get the excitement and joy that comes from those first quick flashes of success.

I admit it, I'm giddy about indexing. And I'm getting so excited about family history - this new calling I got for church, as the family history co-chair, is really getting into my blood. Not so much that I actually know what I'm doing yet and can add to my tree, but just enough that I want to know more about all the people already found and connected on my branches. I'm craving the stories of my ancestors like I never have before.

I'm also craving my own story, feeling this fire to make sure I have a record to pass on - preferably more than my journals from my teenage years. That just seems like an incomplete story...unless the only  character illustration I want to pass on of myself is the boy-crazy young teenager who only goes to church dances and sports practices. Which is pretty accurate.

But I'm working on being better at writing in my journal now, as the young adult with a real job, working on Capitol Hill, involved in the Nation's political movements, in the midst of her Church's sudden spotlight moment in the public eye, living in a big city, still thinking a lot about cute boys. I feel like I have a lot that has shaped me and continues to shape me, and I want my descendants to know my story, if they realize one day, like I am, that it's really cool to know where you came from.

I've always known that my past includes my ancestors' pasts, and that I can know where I'm going by knowing where I came from, but I'm really craving details and specifics right now. Luckily, my parents have never been shy about telling those stories, so I know a few of my ancestors well. And hopefully I'm giving my descendants enough to know me as well - because they matter to me, so hopefully they can learn something through my experiences, like I learn from those who came before me.

All this to say I'm excited to be actively and positively contributing to others' searches for information on their ancestors. I've been meaning to get started on this for months and years now, but tonight I finally got that last push I needed to just git 'er done.

What are you doing to know more about where you come from? I'd love to hear!

So This is a Travel Post That's About a Month Late...oops.

Okay, this is ridiculously late, but it's been kind of busy since I got back from the Motherland, and I wanted to include some pictures as I told you all about how much fun I had visiting the Midwest again. I also didn't want Chris to be mad at me for not discussing it.

So this is a recap of that time when I took a wonderful trip to Chicago, with a super fun detour in Wisconsin for a weekend.

So first, about my stop in Wisconsin my first weekend back in the Midwest, where I: talked politics on a morning run with my brother, played volleyball (kind of) with all the family members, played tennis (as well as I can - so kind of played tennis) with some nieces and nephews and my sister-in-law, got invited to join the Adults Dinner with my brother and sister and their spouses (I felt so privileged! I wasn't sure I'd make the cut...), had delicious guacamole from the guacamole cart at a great mexican restaurant, ate my favorite frozen custard at Kopps, stopped at a Piggly Wiggly (it was a big deal), had delicious guacamole made at home, personally made roughly 75 pancakes for everyone for dinner, celebrated a niece's birthday, enjoyed the local ladies at church giggling about how much my sister and I look like our brother (bahahahah, titter titter titter!!!), and celebrated the greatest victory of my life, past, present, and future, as I beat BOTH brother AND sister in the final round of Tetris. First time I've ever achieved such an accomplishment, and if it's the last, I will still die a happy girl. It seemed fitting that it came on the last night of the Olympic celebration. I like to go out with a bang.

I'd like to note quickly that our outing at Pirate Park and the hay tower, I took some pictures, but mainly let Abby and Chris/Maddie/Caleb take pictures with their fancy cameras. So I'd love to get copies of those, since I don't have them yet...hint hint.

I'd say Vacation:Wisconsin was a success. Thanks to Chris and Jodi and children for being the impeccable hosts they always are. And thanks to Abby and Devn, for sneaking another child in my room every night until I was sharing a room with more of their children through the night than they were...those were 2 sleepless nights I won't be getting back...

Anyway, moving on.

As for Chicago, where I spent my first two days of vacation, followed by the last week+, it was a blast. Part relaxing, part exciting, part exhausting, it covered a lot of things I wanted out of my trip...and then added some surprises as well. While there, I: played at Chuck E. Cheese's for the first time in roughly 20 years, tried - unsuccessfully - to keep my sister's entire family from becoming gambling addicts on one game, conquered Super Mario Bros Wii (aka supported Abby in conquering all the levels/getting all the star coins - I'm no Mario, but I play a great Luigi; I'm more of a natural wingman than leader), battled as an equal at Dr. Mario, sang lots of Lisa Loeb and Spice Girls, walked to the local candy store, took the train to Downtown Chicago for a girls' day out, went shopping in downtown Chicago, finally walked into an H&M store (which is a big deal only because so many of my friends can't believe I'd never been to one - they're not exactly a nationwide chain, though, so it's not like it's always that easy, so lay off me!), ate ice cream while strolling downtown Chicago, saw the giant jellybean sculpture, sat by the marina and stared out at Lake Michigan, walked around a GIANT fountain in the middle of the city, got asked to participate in a video news article for the Onion (turned it down - they asked if we had a spare hour for it, as we were finishing up our day trip  - I don't think so! Would've been cool, but kind of glad I didn't, once I knew what it was going to be about), watched a {not} real penguin hatch, became an instant mother of 3 for a night and morning while my sister stayed with my brother-in-law in the hospital after he got his gall bladder removed (2nd time I've babysat while one of the parents were in the hospital for something - it's kind of becoming a tradition, I guess...), decided I'd rather not be a single mother of 3 instantly...and that I was okay waiting to become a mother in general at the moment, snuggled with nieces and nephews whenever possible, ate at Culvers of course, watched Joyful Noise (it was a goal of the trip - Dolly Parton! Sister Act 2 for a different religious base! Usher songs turned into worship songs!), had my flight back to DC cancelled and got an extra night of vacation, ate waaaaay too much, and enjoyed a leisurely afternoon and evening of jigsaw puzzling. Am I missing anything important? Probably.

And some memorable memories from Chuck E Cheese's:

Some Minor Goings-On That You May or May Not Have Needed to Know About

Just some thoughts and events that I've had that I wanted to share with you. Consider this my twitter feed of the last week or so (since I don't actually have one to post these unimportant and yet so important musings on):

I changed/updated my facebook profile picture for the first time...ever. After 7 years with my original picture, the new facebook page designs that were forced upon me whilst on vacation dictated that I start fresh again...I miss that old picture, but hoping for good things to come with a new start!

My mom called me a hussy in text message, followed by a "good job." I took it all as a compliment. Warped mother/daughter relationship? Perhaps.

I'm actually cheering for Tony Romo to do well with the Cowboys this year, because he's my quarterback on my fantasy football team. I hate it. I feel dirty because of that. Not that I really have divisional reasons to hate the Cowboys, but I'm a football fan who's not from Dallas, so I automatically dislike them by nature. But he got me 30 points in my first game of the season, and I'm rather pleased about it. This internal conflict is difficult. Joe Flacco might be getting started sooner than later just so my stomach can settle and my anxiety can go down.

In other fantasy football news, Aaron Rodgers is right where's he's supposed to be, starting for Mrs. Aaron Rodgers's team (the name of my team in my office league). So glad to see the family is happy and together again!

Every once in a while, I feel like I've got a grain of sand in my eye..residual from a wonderful and relaxing long weekend at the beach. When I feel that sand in my eye, I feel both happy to remember my weekend, and a lot of pain because having something in your eye that you can't get out IS THE WORST.

Walking out of the metro last night, 3 guys were singing with a bowl in front of them for spare change. One guy was doing a pitiful beatbox, and the other two were just singing "oooooooooooooooooooo" in imperfect harmony, just moving up and down their range of notes however they pleased. They did not receive my spare change.

Tuesday at work, I yanked out a long hair I saw growing from the side of my neck! I was horrified. HORRIFIED! I'm just hoping it wasn't pointed out to me over the weekend because no one saw it, rather than because no one was willing to point it out to me....the horror.

I am now the proud owner of a nice, sun-kissed tan. No lobster red for me this time around! I've never been more pleased with the state of my skin after a beach weekend. My face is not glowing in the dark, and I did not burn my ears, hair part, or upper lip area, all of which have been problem spots for me and the sun this year. Nailed it!

The same cannot be said for avoiding mosquitoes. I have roughly 7 mosquitos bites - on one leg - that I'm battling, plus about 15 more I'm trying to ignore as much as possible. Basically, I'm one giant itch fest.

I've been at my new job for about a week and a half now, and the Members come back to town next week. It will be my first week with my big boss back in the office, and looking at his calendar, he is BUSY. I'm about to be thrown underwater...let's hope I don't drown!

I'm kind of obsessed with Shelfari, by amazon.com, right now. If you couldn't tell by the two, TWO, widgets on the side of my blog now. I couldn't decide which books to display, lay off already! I went with books I'm reading (slash I've opened/started on audible/read the first chapter on amazon like I do sometimes...). I want to put all the books I've ever written on there. It's a tall order, but I'm going for it.

And last but not least - I have a post coming to you soon, quickly recapping my trip to the Homeland/Midwest. It doesn't do the 10 days justice by any means, but it has a nice list of awesome moments and will include some pictures when I'm done with it. So stayed tuned, patiently (I'm talking to you, Chris).

Back to Life. Back to Reality

So, mid-Olympics, I left for vacation (super quick recap coming), and since returning, life has moved as a blur. Quite a bit has happened since my flight touched down in DC a day later than anticipated, due to a cancelled flight from supposed storms in DC that never happened...anyway.

Since I've been back in town, I've been rather busy. In the past 5.5 days, I have:

Trained a replacement for my job (I got a new one, did I tell you?)
Had my last day of work in my old office - bittersweet!
Got a silly cold (still working that one out)
went to dinner with friends
Went to a friend's house for dinner with a small group of pals
Set the bar for everyone else at Just Dance 3 (Apache by Sugarhill Gang is my song - I own that dance!)
Went to a club to shake my groove thing a little more (turns out I dance a lot with my legs. I think because I have long ones, so I like to use them). It's kind of a random club. There were about 7 of us dancing. It was awesome.
Enjoyed a rainy day lounging in my bed, catching up on tv shows online. Love my USA Network shows!
Went to my first Polo match. Hoping it's not my last..
Ate a random hole in the wall mexican restaurant on the way to the Polo match - delicious
Danced after the Polo match - it was part of the program: Twilight Polo. 2 matches, followed by dancing - with a DJ! That was an important note on the program. It was a pretty sweet dance party (despite my earlier assertion that I'm a leggy dancer, I'm still a very good dancer. Just wanted to make that clear. I'm definitely worth going to a club or dance party with...)
Went to a wonderful piano concert at the LDS DC Temple Visitors Center

And tomorrow, I start my new job (no rest for the weary). So now, at 9:30pm, I'm going to bed. After a week and a half of rather relaxed vacationing, all this to-do has completely worn me out. I forgot how exhausting living life can be sometimes.

My Olympic Athletes to Watch: Teams Edition!

A quick note, before we start - did anyone else love the bit in the Opening Ceremonies with Chariots of Fire? I personally adored it. I forgot how much I love Mr. Bean, and I was so pleased to see he got such a grand part in the evening. Also, did anyone else think the giant baby thing was odd, to say the least? Favorite line of the night, from Matt Lauer, "that giant baby head is either cute, or really creepy." I say the latter. But I loved the idea of the Queen jumping out of a plane with James Bond (she just sounds like such a funny and enjoyable woman, no?), and I appreciated their idea of the Games ushering in the next generation by using young athletes to light the torch. So endearing.

Okay, the Games are a good two days in, but I'm still making some calls on people I'm so excited about - Teams Edition! I'm just gonna say it, I don't usually love women's sports. And I can say that, because I'm a woman (double standard!). But the Olympics always changes that for me. Case in point: most of these picks of mine are women. Not all, but most. Maybe it appeals to the part of me that always wanted to be in the Olympics, so I relate to the women, because I could've been one of them. Scratch that, I still could be them. Archery team, 2016, here I come. That's a sport that I can grow old with. Or maybe fencing. I might still have a few years in me for that.

Anyway, here are my teams for 2012:

Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh-Jennings
Beach Volleyball

Misty May and Kerri Walsh are Olympic staples, it seems like. This is their 3rd Games, but I feel like they've been in every Olympics I can remember - their names are synonymous with Summer Games. And their Olympic resume is so impressive. Two Games, two gold medals, and they've never even lost a set. Then after Beijing, they started families and did other things, beyond the sand. Kerri decided she was ready to get started in the sport again, but Misty had said she was retired. So Kerri, after confirming that Misty was retired, called up a new partner. But Misty realized she wasn't ready to end it all yet, so she flew to meet Kerri in CA and they got back together - sounds like an intense relationship story, right? And in a sport where you have to have such good chemistry and be so in sync with each other, it should sound like that. They are just so good together. I love watching them. They haven't played with each other too much before these Games, so I think they're still working on their rhythm, but even so, in their first match-up, they won both sets, so I can only see them getting stronger. In 2004, they were the first American female duo to win gold in Beach Volleyball, and in 2008 they became the first duo ever to win back-to-back gold. So of course, if they win again, it will be unprecedented. I'm really hoping they do it. They're legends, as far as I'm concerned - and, I think, as far as a lot of beach volleyball players are concerned, as well.

Todd Rogers & Phil Daulhausser
Beach Volleyball

I guess I'm just thinking back to past Olympics, so my nostalgia is taking me to these partners I know. I didn't watch as much men's beach volleyball as I did women's - there's something about picturing myself out there that draws me to women's more...anyway. I do remember seeing Todd and Phil out there last Games, and seeing them win gold was so great. To be able to just dominate the beach last games was so cool. Admittedly, Todd and Phil's road to gold was quite a bit bumpier than Misty and Kerri's, but the drama is fun, too, right? Phil is a giant (literally - 6'7!) and a monster to play against, and he's considered to be one of the best (if not the best) in the game right now. I'm hoping they can repeat this year, though it will be a tough battle. But these guys have shown in previous matches and years, if there's any duo who knows how to come from behind, how to battle back, and how to play miraculously, it's these guys.

U.S. Women's Indoor Volleyball

So I just really love volleyball, if you haven't caught onto that yet. And I love women's volleyball, because I like to imagine myself playing with them (I'm of course also imagining my pretty decent volleyball skills being about 20 times better in this daydream, but whatever), and I also like the sweet volleys that go back and forth. The women are pretty hard-hitting, but I feel like the volleys are longer and more exciting with women, and you don't get as many hits going out - sometimes I feel like the guys are too strong for their own good, maybe? The women serves inbounds a little more often, et al. They're just so fun to watch. It's such purposeful chaos, with 6 people on a court, switching places, running back and forth, rushing to the ball, getting some distance from the ball - the players are all over the place, but they all know their purpose, when they should be hitting the ball and when they need to make space for someone else. If you need to work on your communication skills - get on a volleyball court. Those girls know how to communicate, so everyone's where they need to be at any moment. It's awesome. I wish I was amazing like them. And this year, the women's team is being coached by last Olympic's men's coach for the U.S. - the coach for the team that won gold (unexpectedly) last go-round. So we'll see if he can direct the women to gold this year. They're favorites to medal at least, but I hope they make it all the way to the top.

U.S. Women's Soccer

So our men's team didn't even make it to the Olympics, which was a little sad, but let's get real here - our hopes for Olympic gold in Soccer has always rested in the women's team anyway. They just barely missed out on it 4 years ago in Beijing, and that silver was great, but it wasn't gold. They've got their sights set on the highest podium this year, and by golly, they can get there. It's just a great team full of women with tremendous talent. I'm so impressed with soccer players - I just don't have the endurance for that sport. But our team is full of women who are so good at what they do, and who know that there just aren't enough fans for the sport in America yet. So not only are they great athletes, but they're also full of personality and acting as wonderful ambassadors of the sport for the U.S. I've watched a video or two of their exploits in the U.K., before the Games began, and they just seem like fun, funny women. I just like them a lot. And I'm excited to watch soccer. How many Americans have said that in their lives? Not nearly as many as should.

U.S. Women's Gymnastics

I feel kind of weird calling this women's gymnastics when it's made up of girls who are all still in their teens. But you mature quickly on such a big stage as the Olympics, and these girls compete and perform with the maturity of women, so they deserve the title. These girls are all so spry and bouncy, and they're just so cute and excited during interviews and on the sidelines, so they're just fun to watch. I personally get really anxious and nervous anytime any of them perform on the beam, or the uneven bars, or the vault...or any of the events, let's just be honest here. Gymnastics gets me the most nervous to watch. Everything they do, I'm on the edge of my seat, almost covering my eyes, but unable to blink in case I miss something. And then the camera shows the mothers sitting in the audience, doing the exact same thing, and I think, "my children will never be gymnasts." My nerves can't handle it. Call me selfish, but I don't want to go through that all the time. It's too much. But our team has handled the pressure so well. Let's hope they can keep it up through the Games. Personally, I love Gabby Douglas (#4 in the picture). She's just a ball of energy and just bounces and jumps so high. I also like her the most because she doesn't look like she's about to throw up every time she performs, like so many other gymnasts do. I prefer watching girls who don't look like they're full of fear for what they're doing. It puts me a little more at ease.

Oh there are others, of course. Men's basketball (I'm more just excited to see the scores and recaps...I haven't been able to get into basketball lately...), Men's volleyball, Men's rowing, etc., but these teams above are the ones I really know and love. Though of course, any jersey that reads USA gets my cheers and bitten nails. I love being patriotic, it's so fulfilling.