Saturday, March 29, 2008

TGIF!!

After another long week at work, I decided I needed a night to go out and have fun with friends. I have't been into the bar/club scene since grad school but every now and then it appeals to my mood.


Last night Stu and I went to this bar in Arlington called Clarendon Ballroom. I used to go there a lot when I interned on the hill. It's a fun place to dance and chill out. My only complaint was that I got there at 8:30 - pretty early for a club - and they charged me cover! Now, granted it was on $5, but still ... Women should never have to pay cover! (sorry, guys)

Anyway, once we were done there we grabbed a burger at Hard Times (very good) and then went to Liberty bar. It was great! Stu has so many friends up here that he has known since high school and it's so much fun to get to know them better. We hung out until 1 am ... I was so tired. I don't know how I used to stay up all night and then work the next day. I guess I'm getting old.

We haven't taken many pictures together, Stu and me that is, so I had one of his friends snap a few when we were at Liberty. We had a couple of beers in us by this time ... ;-)


Tuesday, March 25, 2008

I know, I know ...

Ok, so it's been more than a week since my last post, but I have a good reason! I sing in choir and on praise team at my church and we had FIVE services to perform at for Easter this past weekend. Not only was I living on the risers Saturday and Sunday, but I also had four hours of practice on Friday night! Add boyfriend time, best friend is moving in three weeks time, and work time - I had no time left for blogging.


I survived the weekend and the services were great at church. I'm singing this weekend on praise team, which I'm so excited about! It's just me and the worship leader (usually there are 3 or 4 people on stage) so I'm a little nervous too. I've never sung in front of two thousand people before. If you are interested - you can watch online at 9 AM and 10:45 AM EST. Here is the link http://www.mcleanbible.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=17257.


On a positive note, I had my first guitar lesson with my dear friend Alexis a couple of weeks ago. I've been practicing when I can and building up my fingers. I learned A, G, E, and D. Wahoo!


I'm such a poser.


More to come when I find time ... does anyone have any extra I can borrow?!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Washington DC

As I have mentioned before, I live about 12-15 miles from DC. Actually, that is a little misleading. It takes about 30-45 minutes to get into the city depending on what time of day you decide to go. If you metro (our version of the subway) it takes about 30 minutes as well.


I've been learning more about the metro again since I started seeing Stu. He likes to take me into the city and explore whatever new exhibit is available. It's been great for me to get more familiar with what DC has to offer.


A couple of weeks ago we went to the Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian to see the 3-D U2 Imax they were showing there. We got there early with the intention of walking around the museum before the show. Unfortunately, the museums close at 5:30 on Saturdays so we only had about 15 minutes before we had to leave. We walked from the Smithsonian to the Capitol South metro across from the House office buildings. It's about 3 metro stops (Stu was a little winded).


We ate dinner at a surprisingly good mexican food place called Tortilla Coast. Stu and I both spent time working on the Hill and that was one of the restaurants government workers used to frequent. It was great to think about all my crazy times as an intern. I can't believe that was four years ago!


We metro-ed back to the U2 show (at Stu's request) around 9pm. It was a great show! Worth the money if you like U2.


I took some pictures of the mall at sunset. Here they are:


Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Family

A couple of weeks ago I visited my Aunt, cousins and grandparents in rural Kentucky. It was great - a real break from the busy pace my life is usually going at in DC. I even got to pet some goats and see a 14 point buck.

This past weekend my Mom was in town from Texas. It was wonderful - no alarm clocks, no appointments, totally free from obligations. It made me look at my life and wonder if my priorities were in the right place.

I moved to the DC area three years ago after I got my masters at Texas A&M without much thought as to how I would handle living so far from my folks. I integrated well up here and made a good life for myself full of friends and activities I never would have attempted if I was in Houston.

Yet as I have gotten older, I realize the importance of keeping close ties with the people who matter the most. My family has been supportive of my through the good times and bad; through thick and thin; and I know they won't be around forever. I love them so much.

Some day, when I've had enough of the crazy world that is DC, I just might move back down to the land of oil and cattle, where I know I will always have a piece of my heart.