My running fiend

Can we see track in this kid's future? 7 miles and he didn't break a sweat according to his mom. Go Declan!

I finally got to take mom to see the cherry blossoms

Unsuccessful self-portrait

Slightly more successful self-portrait

Mom by the Jefferson memorial

They were just soooooo beautiful

New Year's Eve Celebration

Ironically

I hate it when people just post pictures to a blog with no commentary. OR they are clearly missing big bits of life (ie she flew home to Seattle and isn't saying anything about it. WHY NOT!?).

So I flew home. And kitty and I both survived. I am not sure Shupa (Flora/my Dad's cat) is going to make it through. He seriously wants to be friends and little miss (Mei-Mei) is not about to have any of it. Again. It's a replay of last holiday season.

I am having a good time, even if I have managed to percolate a cold/sinus infection of some sort. So I far I have seen mostly my parents and Declan and Mary Alyce a couple of times. I really, really need to throw in my cousins (Riah and Jerusha, and kiddos!) and Robin (and Lorie Mae). Especially with the kiddos I feel like I am missing huge chunks of their lives. They are completely different. I am sure I won't even recognize Sheep cat from our brief introduction last year (yeah Gaby!).

So now I photo dump. And they aren't even mine! These are the hike my dad and I and his idiom class students went on Sunday. We had SOO much fun. I really enjoyed it. It did take a while (long while) to completely thaw out.

The rest of the White House Residence Photos

Courtesy of Mashari! Who has no shame about taking pictures whenever, where ever. Which I can't quite pull off but I totally appreciate the results of.
Not my best pictures but they could be worse.

This shot is by the Christmas tree (there were dozens!) by the residence portico entrance (see picture below)

Me showing of the house (and the dumpster? "22"?) Mashari and I enjoying the break in a work day.

The trees lining the door had crystal/glass drips that caught the light and looked like glittering ice. It was really cool.

Another shot of those really awesome wreaths made of gourds of some sort.
This is Mashari's favorite room, the red room. It definitely felt the "warmest", the most inviting, even though it was as formal as the rest of the house!

The "gingerbread" house below is case in white chocolate and has little cut aways so you can see inside two rooms in the building. It was the highlight for the all school kids that were on our tour.

Another shot into the blue room, looking at the Christmas tree. That one was complete ginormous and took up a lot of space.

Last year's tree light ceremony, I think.

Very few things can do relaxation as well as a cat

Friday night agrees with Mei-mei

White House residence tour pictures

I will post more pictures once I steal them from Mari, but these are the sampling of photos from my White House Residence tour yesterday. Normally tours are through the West Wing, the working wing, so to speak. But Jesse (Mashari's awesome friend who happens to have grown up right down the street for where my parents now live, in unincorporated Lynnwood) got tickets for the girls bible study (unofficially the PGBS). Unfortunately, Merissa and Janet weren't able to make it, but Jesse joined us which was so much fun!!

Pomegranate wreath

This really large cotton shag-esque reproduction was of the First dog. Who I got to see on the lawn playing while we were there! I am still bummed they didn't get a mutt from the pound. But how can you turn down a dog this cute? You can't!

This wreath made of small gourds was in the same hallway as the pomegranate wreath. The effect was really impressive. and don't you love the crystal/ice effect they added to the branches surrounding the doorway?

This ginormous tree was in the Blue Room. And no, its not hanging from the ceiling and the ceiling is not slanted. The wheat Christmas tree topper is just that tall.

From the Washington monument.

Catching up in pictures doesn't give much info or background. Unfortunately, my friends, I have fallen off the blogger bandwagon. Somewhere along the line the things I wanted to really write about became too close to share, to important or uncomfortable to expose. Uncovering depths I didn't know were there is an . . . interesting? (painful? healthful? helpful?) process. My wellspring of pitter-patter chatter seems to have run a little dry.

It doesn't hurt that I think of my everyday life as boring: feed the cat, go to work, eat lunch, come home, feed the cat, do housework, do bills, watch TV, go to bed. Start all over again.

But some days are good. Like this day where we all (Merissa, Jesse, Mashari, and her Mom) all went up in the Washington Monument. It was soo much fun.

This is the photo everyone in the office saw

In fact, it went out in email. Yep, that's the back of me. Playing putt-putt golf. And getting a hole in one!

Book Hill Park Garden

Georgetown, Washington, DC

The White House Garden Tour

I was THAT close to the White House. Thanks to a friend of Mari's (thanks Mashari!) there were two tickets to the White House garden's annual viewing. Merissa and Samantha both had to work today at 3pm. Merissa drove downtown with me but then felt the pressure to get to work and completely missed the tour (the line was ridiculously long!). Luckily I met up with Mashari and Jesse and I didn't have to be completely alone.

The play toy looked kinda fun.

Aren't we completely darling? Janet, Me and Mashari. I just wish Merissa could have been there. It would have been the complete Bible study crew.
Mashari came up with the fantastic pose. It really was amazing to see something to iconic to the US and be so completely closeup.
Wisteria is in bloom.
The view on the South lawn. I don't think I would like being so penned in as President of the US, and be followed everywhere. But I would totally take the house.

The azaleas are definitely in bloom all over DC right now.
Mari wanted a picture with the guys and the big guns. They were not kidding around.
The tree the Eisenhower planted. Some president's definitely got a kick out of planting lots of new trees.

Evolve

Our government agency program office has been trying to "Evolve" for some time: increase process and procedure, creation and adherence; improve customer service satisfaction; etc. There is a little metro map that goes along with this. Someone has rebelled.

Nothing says "process and performance improvement" like a nuclear blast.

Memory of a gorgeous day in the Fall