A B C ...

A - Attached or Single: Flying Solo

B - Best Friend: Lots of good friends, no "best friend." 

C - Cake or Pie: Ice cream with chocolate sauce!

D - Day of Choice: Tuesday because it's my homework and errand day

E - Essential Item: wallet with SmarTrip card

F - Favorite Color: Green

G - Gummi Bears or Worms:  Gummi Bears

H - Hometown: Centerville, Utah

I - Indulgence(s): Chocolate and bookstores

J - January or July: January!  It's my birthday and you get to set new goals...

K - Kids: Boys between the ages of 6 and 14 always have crushes on me.

L - Life is Incomplete without: libraries

M - Marriage Date: May 14th

N - Number of siblings: 8

O - Oranges or Apples: Apples

P - Phobias or Fears: being unprepared, having people laugh at me

Q - Quote(s): "It's a poor man that can only spell a word one way."  Andrew Jackson

R - Reason to Smile: Only two more months until I graduate!

S - Season: Fall with all the beautiful colors!

T - Tags: Abby, Allison, Amy and Julie

U - Unknown Fact About Me:  My favorite fingernail polish to wear on my fingers is a clear 

polish with sparkles.  Girly but understated.

V - Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: Beef, it's what's for dinner!

W - Worst Habit: procrastinating

X - Rays or Ultrasounds: x-ray

Y - Your Favorite Food: avocados

Z - Zodiac: Capricorn

Always be prepared...

My 72 hour kit has just taken a turn for the better.

Some impulse buys are worth it. I found this in the check line of Borders. Funny and delicious what more can you ask for? 

Laura's Visit Pictures in a Museum

Self Portraits in American Indian Smithsonian bathroom.

To flash or not to flash... why can't I better pictures?

Book break in the Sackler Gallery... or was it the Freer.  The museums are linked underground and I have a problem remembering which one I am in.

Artwork at the Renwick Gallery.  You'll notice the broken glass on the floor just across the table from Laura.  Thankfully the guards didn't come running.   Actually this is one of my favorite displays.  Everything is made of glass from the plates (usual) to the food, utensils and mice joining the feast (unusual.)

Here we are waiting to go up the Washington Monument.  A little too much time, with a digital camera.

Laura's Visit Part One

Laura's here for a visit before she heads over to Hong Kong.  We have wasted no time pointing out on every map where she's going at the end of the month.

But Laura's pending missionary status hasn't stopped us from flirting with all the cute boys in uniform that we've met.  What can I say?  DC is a fabulous place to meet new people.

Laura and I went up to New York City for an overnight trip.  Dan and Amy were kind enough to let us crash at their apartment.  We did a session with Amy at the Manhattan temple, went to Mary Poppins and stocked up at the M&M store.
Wednesday was overcast.  It was raining in the morning when we went down to see the Statue of Liberty.  If you want to have the same experience we did, you should stand in the shower with the water turned to cold.  Squint, the statue's there I promise.
I dragged Laura to the New York Public Library.  She was horrified that I wanted to go the library on our trip but she was kind enough to humor me.
We had dinner in Chinatown before heading back to DC on the bus.  This was the first meal that I have successful eaten entirely with chopsticks.
Later, back in DC... Laura and I spent the afternoon at the US Botanic Gardens.  The smell was fabulous.  I had fun practicing taking pictures.  Here are some of my better ones!  Feel free to comment on how beautiful they are.


I found this convenient "M" in the orchid showcase.

Touring is exhausting work.  

The best part is that she doesn't leave until Monday!  Three more days to play.

Too cold to think...

This week has been brain-stoppingly cold.  Let me explain.  The weather is so cold that I find myself having the same conversation with myself as I walk the two blocks to work huddled in my coat and scarf trying to stay warm.

Maria: "I'm going to die... I'm freezing.  The wind makes this 100 times worse.  What am I doing out here?  Why would anyone be outside if they didn't have to be?"  At this point in my dull monologue, I round the corner and see these two men just sitting, talking and playing chess!  "Who plays chess outside in negative 5000 degree weather?  Are they crazy, they must be..." at this point in my rant I realize that these crazy men are actually statues that I have passed every single morning on my way to work for the past six months!

                                      

I usually spend the rest of the walk to work, shaking my head, that once again I forgot that they are statues.   How embarrassing to admit that part of my morning routine is a soap box rant against freezing cold, crazy statues.