While I Was Out

So I went away for work one week with my backyard looking like this.....

and I came home to it looking like this.....

I had recently had the fence redone and when they did it I had them move it to the other side of the window.  This allowed me to put a garden right outside of that window - it's the breakfast room/kitchen area that overlooks it.  I have to hand it to Sean, he did a great job!  Maybe I should leave more often!  Since I was at it taking pictures I thought I would show you some progress on all the plants coming up.  It always amazes me how fast they come up.  To see what they looked like just a few short weeks ago read here.

Rollin' with the Prez

This week work took me back to DC. We decided to actually get out and about one night after work.  So we....

RODE SEGWAYS!!!

I had actually been on this tour before but it was a couple of years ago so it was fun to go again.  We started by seeing Ford's Theatre.  It was actually the anniversary of Lincoln being shot there.

This area was in honor of all the past, present and future Navy men and women.  I love the statues around the city.

Loved the flags against the clear blue sky.

They bring a vial of water from each major body of water and place it in this fountain each year.

Outside the Newseum they have a front page paper from each state.  This day actually had the Bangor Daily News and Dallas Morning News.

All the flowers were out in full force.  These are outside the capitol building.

These were outside a botanical garden.

Can't forget about the major attractions...the Capitol - my favorite picture I took this week.

Washington Monument - if you look closely, about 1/3 the way up the rock changes color.  They actually ran out of money to create this and had to stop for years.  When they started again they got rock from the same quarry but it was from deeper in the ground so was slightly different colored.  Another really cool fact is that this is the tallest, free-standing structure in the world.  The rocks are just sitting on top of one another - no structures or mortar or anything.

White House - there's a really neat show about the history of the White House on Discovery or History that you should watch if you happen to come across it.

The architecture in the city is so amazing!  This is part of the Capitol Building.

Here we all are in front of the Capitol.

These are some other random pictures I took throughout the week.  This walkway had what looked like glass embedded in it - so cool.

Entrance to China Town.

Painted on the side of a church.

I couldn't resist taking this one - it's the entrance to a liquor store.

Even if we don't agree with everything the politicians are doing in DC we can all agree on the beauty of the city!

Greatest Restaurant Concept

Traveling for work has it's benefits and drawbacks.  One of the drawbacks is having to eat out every single meal while you're gone.  If you've ever looked at restaurant menus or plates you'll find overly fat saturated, over sized meals.  Some restaurants you literally can order a meal and eat it for dinner all week.  Problem is, most hotels don't have fridges large enough to fit the mini bar stuff and your to go box.

I was in Tampa this last week and had dinner with a friend.  Knowing we both try to watch what we eat she introduced me to the greatest restaurant concept.  The premise of the restaurant is organic, natural, fresh foods but the best part is no dish on the menu is over 475 calories!!!  They also change their menu seasonally.  It's actually a chain restaurant but if you live anywhere near one you should try it out.  The desserts are really cute too - they're in little shot glasses (and 200-300 calories). 

I didn't get any pictures but check them out - Season's 52.

Remodeling

The largest room that got painted is the living room/kitchen/hall area.  This area has gone through a huge transformation since I first moved in.  First step was to paint the kitchen cabinets a couple of years ago.  Amy came down from Kansas to help me.  We also painted the entire area.  Now that it's done I need to do some additional decorating like adding new curtains to the living room.

This is the kitchen before the cabinets were painted.

The living room before being painted.  You can see all the swatches on the wall where I was trying to pick a color.

Here it is after they finished.  I love it so much and can't wait to finish doing the decorating.  I've started by making the curtains for the kitchen.  Read about the process and see the before and after here.

The Understated Holiday

I'm talking about Easter.  It always humbles me when I think about what the holiday is and why we celebrate it.  I also wonder how many people actually know why we celebrate Easter.  Imagine someone loving you so much that they would die on a cross for your sins.  I'm so grateful for what God has done for me for I am a sinner!  HE IS RISEN!

I also love that it's an excuse to visit my family.  Here are some of my favorite shots from the weekend.

Duke hoping for a snack to just fall from the sky.

Warmer....warmer...BURING...

I saw it first!  No, I saw it first!

All the grandkids with their "Goppy" looking over them.  It was like herding cats to get this shot.

The Most Asked Question

When I was single, I would get asked "are you seeing anyone?"  I always felt there was an undertone of "I can't believe you're that old and not married and no prospect in the works".  I lucked out though that I had a great family that understood and didn't ever say those things directly to me.  I have plenty of friends that would get those types of questions from their parents though and I know it had to have bothered them.  It would have really bothered me if mine had said that to me.

Why does everyone assume everyone wants and needs to get married?  I was perfectly content with being single - in fact I was enjoying my freedom and loved hanging out with all my friends, going on trips and the such.  Maybe if more people waited to get married until they have lived some we wouldn't have as many divorces in this world.

So now that I'm married, can you guess what is the most asked question?  I'll give you three chances and the first two don't count.  "When are you going to have kids?"  Again, everyone assumes everyone wants and needs to have children or can.  I also feel like there's really an undertone of "your clock is ticking."  After my April Fools joke I figured I should go ahead and answer this question.

Sean and I am very content with our lives.  If it happens we would be freaked out (Sean more so then me) but eventually very happy and if it doesn't happen we will also be very happy.  In thinking about starting a family or not I came across a book - "Taking Charge of Your Fertility: The definintive guide to natural birth control, pregnancy achievement, and reproductive health" by Toni Weschler.  I bought it for the natural birth control section.  I've never been a big fan of drugs so I was looking for a natural method of birth control.  It's a very interesting book and made me realize they didn't teach me anything in school!  I think the woman's health section should be taught in schools.  I would recommend if you have a young daughter to get her this book to read.  I learned so much and am now trying to apply what I learned to not get pregnant.

We'll see how it works.  It seems pretty straightforward but if I misread my bodies signs.....

The Time Has Come...

These will no longer be our only kids...

Yep, that's right -WE'RE EXPECTING!!!  We're both completely freaked out about it.  This wasn't really the timing we anticipated or really wanted but who said we were in control over stuff like this?!?!  Soon there will be another Sean running around (help us all!) - yep it's going to be a boy.  Not really sure how I feel about that as I always wanted a little girl that I could dress up and fix up her hair.  Even Duke ended up being a boy - I would have loved to put bows in his hair.  Oh well, maybe we'll just need to try again.  HA!  Let's see how I feel after this one - he may do me in!

APRIL FOOLS!!!