A lovely Friday

This week has been brutal..no joke or exaggeration, I have worked 10 hour days all week long. But today, today was a great day. I had the day off because my friend and her classmate (now my new friend) was in town for only the day. She arrived yesterday, but I had to work until 11 (SERIOUSLY!) and Dave hung out with her for me! So today we headed into DC to see the monuments and museums. We ate great food, had great conversation, and talked about our field of work (which we all geek out about!).  Here are a few photos from a great day with great people.

p.s. I did the first day of insanity...it was crazy, crazy, hard...but I survived, that in itself is an accomplishment.

Silly Minnesotans..they aren't used to anything being in bloom right now

I love Abe

Nurses War Memorial: SOOOO moving
It makes me think of all the great work my grandma did as a Nurse in the Army

ITS INSANE

Yes, it truly is insane..because its INSANITY! WHOOOOOOOTTTT!!!! Our INSANITY workout DVDs (from China..shhhh) finally arrived yesterday after a very long, patient wait. Tonight we popped in the Fit Test DVD thinking, "okay, this is going to be hard. It's called Insanity for a reason. But how hard can the fitness test be?" OMG! It can be very hard..it was insanely hard!! Dave and I both nearly died, not only from exhaustion but from our neighbors (they don't take fondly to two big people jumping up and down for three minutes straight) as well.  So after we felt like death and were sweating like two hogs, I popped in the dvd we will have to do tomorrow. You know a little teaser to see what we will have to do and what we got ourselves into. SERIOUSLY, if you do not hear from Dave or I by Thursday night please call our landlord to make sure we are alive! Because we may not make it out alive after the little preview we saw. The people in the video even were dying..and usually they are all smiles and making it look fun, but NOT here they look like they are going to die, they stop in the middle of reps, they walk off camera and get water..they are miserable! So, tomorrow during the day or night please take a moment or two to think about Dave and I and send us happy thoughts, or even better a little prayer for our survival, cause we are going to need it!

No Sleep Til Brooklyn

For my husband's 30th birthday, I gave him a surprise trip to NYC. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, he hasn't been back for a few years. This was the perfect time for us to go back together, he could show me where he grew up while reminiscing about the good old days. Even though it was cold, and snow piled on the ground, it was a beautiful day to be by his side and learning about where he used to play, where his dad bought fruit, and where he used to go for his favorite pizza.

ships ahoy

  

These pictures were taken on ships in the Chesapeake Bay located in Baltimore, MD. The ship with the red and white paint is the Chesapeake, completed in 1930 and stood at the entrance of the Chesapeake Bay at the beginning of World War II.  I usually am not one for history or boats, but I loved touring the boats in Baltimore and taking pictures. It was amazing to see how the ships operated and how men lived on these ships.  I know that I would not be able to handle the months on end living in a tight quarters, eating horrible food, and being stuck with twenty other stinky men!  I do love these photos though, they make me feel very nautical, and I at times can not say no to a good nautical theme!

this is my town

These photos represent my hometown, well two towns that I consider my hometown. I grew up in the country equally between two small towns, Winnebago and Huntley. The 'larger' of the two has a population of 1,000 and the other town has around probably 350 give or take a few. I love coming from a smaller town, even though my family moved from there in the 5th grade, I still consider it home. I love old, small towns they have a history that speaks from each building and road. When visiting this summer the towns were more isolated then before, buildings were in worse shape, you could feel the pain of the economy, you could see first hand what is happening in America. It breaks your heart but at the same time you look at the residents of these towns and they are surviving. They are strong, hopeful, committed, they do what they need to get by and to support their families...they are who America is built on and who we all need to thank.

big city big beauty

This is a picture of Great Falls, VA. It is located less than 3 miles from Washington D.C., can you believe it!!! It's amazing, this world of ours. You could be in the busy, hustle and bustle of the Nation's Capital embedded in city life and not being able to slow down.  Then POOF you end up being embedded in nature, able to slow down, breathe in the fresh air and let it slowly calm your body, embracing the new, relaxed you. A place like Great Falls is great because it enables you to take part of both worlds, something I believe people struggle with. You are able to have the city, the culture, the history and then you are able to have the relaxation, the nature, the power. If I discovered this is my backyard, well within 15 miles, then who knows what you will discover when you got out and explore your own backyard.

Everyday Should Be Laundry Day

When I lived in a middle sized town in Southern Minnesota I had to do my laundry at one of the local laundry mats. Laudry is one of my favorite chores to do, I find it relaxing to seperate the clothes, move them from the washer to dryer and lastly folding them. It's a chore that when at a laundry mat, can take a whole day..and I'm fine with that. Cause it gives you the time to slow things down for a while while the clothes are doing their thing in the great inventions of washers and dryers. Dave and I would always bring a book to read, he would walk over to Jimmy Johns get us something to eat, I would start the laundry, we would eat and then we would kick up our feet and indulge in reading. There aren't many other chores that give us this opportunity to get some accomplished while relaxing and enjoying our time. I was drawn to the old seventys decor in the laundry mat, I loved it! It became my favorite place because of the old wallpaper, the feeling of lonelines and despair, yet it was a place that was almost occupied by at least on person. When at the laundry mat you never knew what you might encounter. I met many different people in the laundry mat, from the college couple who instead of reading a book thought it would be better to make out in the corner to the Sundanese girl named Akelah, but everyone called her Saturday...she had a cousin named Friday or to the older man on business who offers you $10 to fold his laundry when its dry..and when finished you sneak the $10 bill back into his laundry because your mom taught you to help others in need. I only used the laundry mat for a year, but it was where I spent almost every other Saturday or Sunday and for some strange reason it will always be one of my favorite things in town. I loved it so much, from the feeling to the decorations, that we took some of our engagement pictures there!