52 Adventures

My friend Aline introduced me to a blog called The Year of 52 Adventures (http://yearof52adventures.com/). A woman named Kimberly started a blog challenging people to have an adventure every week in 2010 and write about it. We are three weeks in and the blog is already very entertaining and exciting.

It is impossible to read something like that and not want to try it out myself. I am a little late, but last night I started making a list of all of the things that I would like to do this year. I don't want to plan out all of my weeks, because I am hoping that some of my adventures will be spontaneous and unexpected.

I have been keeping up with the year so far without even really trying. For the first three weeks of my year of adventures, I:

Ran 5 miles for the first time
Went to a ballroom class
Ate fondue

So far, my plans for the next 49 weeks consist of big, medium and small plans for adventure. Keep in mind, all of these adventures will be firsts for me. Hence the "adventure" part.

Bake a cake
Sew a quilt top
Take a cooking class
Run 10 miles
Run a 1/2 marathon
Go to New Orleans
Go to Six Flags in New Jersey
Graduate from college

I am open to suggestions! I would also love to hear any of your lists if you decide to participate in the 52 weeks of adventures.

Goodbye 2009

We had such a fantastic year in 2009, that it is kind of hard to see it go. I tried new things, welcomed a lot of visitors, took a few trips, said goodbye to some great friends and met several new ones. Looking through my photos from 2009 made me nostalgic (if you can be nostalgic about things that happened less than 12 months ago.

January 2009

The year started with the tail end of our New Year's Eve party. This party was kind of a farewell to a group of our friends. We had nine friends move to different places all over the world within the next few months, and we miss them madly. We braved the crowds to see Obama's inauguration, then joined our fellow soldiers/spouses at an inaugural ball. I had a good excuse to buy a ball gown, we saw Barack/Michelle & Joe/Jill dance, and we were entertained by Bon Jovi and Josh Groban, among others. Quite a night.

February 2009

Levi & I drove to Savannah, GA to do a little exploring, then on to Disneyworld and Universal Studios, then met up with some old friends on our road trip home.

March 2009

Took a little road trip to Pittsburgh to see Adil and Ashley, saw the Andy Warhol museum at Carnegie Mellon, the French/Indian War museum at the point, ate wonderful food and incredible ice cream. Came home and saw Brendon Small in concert with his School of Rock. I got a new job at Earth Day Network. We drove up to Central PA to pick up our baby chinchillas, Snuggly Buggles and Scrambles the Death Dealer.

April 2009

My friend Shari brought her kids for a visit and we took them on the monument/museum tour. We saw everything from the Capitol to the cherry blossoms to the Holocaust museum to the White House and made huge meals for the seven of us. Flight of the Conchords concert, backstage at Earth Day on the National Mall where we met The Flaming Lips.

May 2009

Played with a pinata at Cinco de Mayo. Mom & Robyn came to visit over Memorial Day weekend. I showed them all of my favorite spots in DC, we met an old lady named Happy at the FDR Memorial, cried with the biker veterans at the Vietnam Memorial, saw pandas in the rain at the zoo, played on the giant at National Harbor, fed squirrels, and got yelled at by guards at Arlington Cemetery.

June 2009

Levi was promoted to SSG. I ran my first 5K in the pouring rain. When the weather finally cleared up for the summer we went on a hike with Mike & Suzie and relaxed at our new favorite winery in Maryland.

July 2009

Another road trip to Pittsburgh where we spent hours at the aquarium and zoo complete with a baby seal and baby elephant. Ryan came to visit for the month and we went to Busch Gardens, New York, the Late Show with David Letterman, Great Falls and took a West Wing tour of the White House. We crammed so much in, and it was one of my favorite months of the year.

August 2009

Yard work and painting at an elementary school for the Lockheed Martin volunteer day, zip lining with Sarah, kayaking for the first time, and dozens of bands (and $11 beer) at the Virgin Music Festival.

September 2009

Gramma & Grampa came to visit and we went on a tour of the U.S. Capitol. Levi and I did a high ropes course (another first) with Sarah, and I quit Earth Day Network (yay!) and got a job with Levi at Lockheed Martin. Now Levi and I commute to work together.

October 2009

Such a month... Our Make a Pizza party was a hit, Mom came to visit and we drove to Pennsylvania together to see the Amish people in Intercourse, went on another Capitol tour, toured the National Cathedral. I visited my family in Southern Utah where we went to Bryce Canyon, Snow Canyon, enjoyed the desert, carved pumpkins and had an incredible time. Tobi and Brady visited and we ran around in the rain, had all manner of fun with our friends and went to Six Flags. Whew. Another one of my favorites.

November 2009

Took a mind-blowing trip to Manzanillo, Mexico to see Ashley & Adil get married, snorkeled a coral reef and sunken ship, ATVed in the jungle, ate the best food and hung around in our swimsuits all day. Around the World party was a blast and the food was wonderful. Cajun Thanksgiving with friends then regular Thanksgiving with coworkers.

December 2009

Getting ready for Christmas, lots of shopping (hey, it's a highlight for me). Went to the National Christmas tree with Josh & Karen, moved into our new office. Visited family and friends in Salt Lake City where we saw everyone after way too long, went out to eat way too much and opened lots of gifts (yay!). Wrapped up 2009 the same way we brought it in... a New Year's Eve/birthday party with our new friends.

Good luck 2010... you have some huge shoes to fill.

Catch Up Blogging

We have had a crazy year! Apparently so crazy that I have completely neglected my blog. A lot has happened in the last few months. I got a new job in the Intelligence Analysis Training Program section of Lockheed Martin, which means I am working in Levi's office now. I'm the Training Administrator for all of our courses. Levi is an instructor for the Analyst's Notebook Applied course, and he was recently promoted to Course Manager. Our office just moved closer to our house, and both Levi and I got our own offices with big windows. Windows + promotions = we like our jobs.

Levi went out of town for work/Army Reserves for the month of October, so naturally I booked a bunch of visitors and trips. It was so great to have everyone come visit. Grandma & Grandpa Averett, Mom, and Tobi and Brady, all within six weeks! I also got to visit my family in Southern Utah for a few days, which was fantastic. On top of all of that, as soon as Levi got back from his business trip, we jumped on a plane and flew to Manzanillo, Mexico for Ashley & Adil's wedding. That trip was so incredible that it gets its very own blog post.

I decided to relive my awkward pre-teen/teen years and get braces again. Here is a lesson for all of you kiddies out there - when you get your braces off and your orthodontist tells you to wear your retainer, DO IT! Otherwise you will be a 27-year-old metal mouth. I was really dreading getting them on, but it is not as bad as I thought. I mean, it sucks, but it is not the end of the world like I made it out to be.

So, that is what we have been up to lately. We have had such an incredible year; I'll try to post more good times before 2009 is over. Every time I tell my grandma about the fun things we are doing, she tells me that I really need to keep a journal. I always take a lot of photos and post things on Facebook, but I thought that updating my blog more than annually might also be a good thing to do. Happy Thanksgiving!

Good News For the New Year

In my last post I complained that, despite my increased cardio stamina and decreased running times, I was not losing pounds. I decided to forget about the weight loss for the winter months and just concentrate on keeping up my new hobby.

Levi and I went home for Christmas, then we both came home sick, so it was hard to go to the gym. We managed to keep going at least once a week during that time. Now we are back to three times each week and cardio in between (when it is not too cold). Since the beginning of the year I have lost three pounds and I am well on my way to meeting my goal of losing four pounds by the end of January.

Because of the winter running lapse I am not doing as well with my endurance. I think I took a step back in that department, so I'll just have to keep at it. Again, I am more concerned with just keeping it going until it gets warm outside and running is fun again. I also cannot wait to take my bike down to the trail.

The dress goal is looking good. I went to Obama's Commander in Chief Inaugural Ball on Tuesday night. I wore a dress that was a size smaller than I would have a year ago!

The Five Things I Am Loving Right Now

1. Stephen Colbert's "Charlene (I'm Right Behind You)" on Rock Band II. This has been one of my favorites for some time now, but the fact that it is a free download on Rock Band II is the best.


2. The new Belle & Sebastian BBC Sessions CD is making me very happy. It is a great selection of songs, including four rare tracks.

3. This time of year always makes me feel crafty. Last year I made my own Christmas cards. This year I ordered a few embroidery patterns from Sublime Stitching and got to work. So far I have embroidered a cute little hedgehog on a dish towel. Boy oh boy is it cute. Next: zombies and pirates. And a squirrel.

4. I have new hair! It's dark with a little red. Also, say hello to bangs. (I love it.)

5. I finally bought tickets for our flight home for Christmas. Oh jeez, they were expensive. But it is worth it! We have not been in Salt Lake since last Christmas, and I have only seen my family for a few days all year. I'll drop a grand or two every year if that is what it takes.

Afternoon to Remember

Nothing is a whole lot cooler than living in DC. Being able to spend a Saturday afternoon walking around the National Mall or browsing the Smithsonian makes life significantly more interesting. There are a lot of things that are completely different to me. For one thing, I can get anywhere I want by walking or taking the Metro. It is not as depressing to be without a car as I thought it would be. I think it actually makes my life a little more interesting.


On Saturday Levi and I took the Metro to Dupont Circle to meet someone who is interviewing Iraq war veterans for a research project. Before we met her, we stopped for flatbread sandwiches at Cosi. Mine was chicken, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil. Levi's was roast beef and wasabi. They were delicious.



Then we wandered into a little bakery / coffee shop and picked up some Valentine's Day sprinkle cookies that I ended up trying to feed to a sad-looking statue later on.




After the interview we walked around Dupont Circle and admired the buildings. Then it was off to Embassy Row. Not on purpose... we just stumbled upon it.



There were statues everywhere... some of them were people and some were elephants. This is in front of the Indian Embassy. We also saw Ghandi and Buffalos and lots of political leaders from around the world.




This is one of the most tolerant churches I have ever seen. On the other end of the church was a SaveDarfur.org banner. Nice to know someone is aware of how Jesus would have really wanted things. (Psst... he would have been a liberal.)



Across the street from the church was a gas station where I had a very random experience. After walking around for a couple of hours, we both realized the need to find a restroom. We spent the next fifteen minutes spell-checking an essay for the clerk's English class. Odd, but kind of fun.

There are so many restaurants in DC, we could eat out every day for the next ten years and never hit all of them. This realization inspired us to make a promise not to eat at chain restaurants anymore. We are pretty good about that anyway, but this experience made it necessary to pinkie-swear. (We might cheat with the occasional Chipotle burrito.)

The next stop was a little independently owned bookstore. It made us promise not to shop at Barnes & Noble anymore either.



While we were strolling, we came upon a street that was all blocked off to traffic. There were a few people walking and biking around, so we thought we would check it out. Turns out it was Pennsylvania Avenue, so we got some nice White House photos.



Right in front of the White House there was a guy with an arsenal of picket signs. Everything from anti-war to pro-life posters. He was sorting through them when we walked by, and I got this picture as he was picking out two of them to hold up. It seems to me that protesting kind of loses its impact if you have a sign for everything.


After several hours of exploring, we jumped on the Metro to head home. We had to change lines in Chinatown, and we decided to get dinner at a place that we had walked by a couple of weeks ago called Wok and Roll. Awesome name for a restaurant. They had great sushi and sesame chicken. Yum.




We have been checking on Joe and Charlotte's dog this weekend, so we stopped for some Corona and went to their house. We played with Georgia-dog and watched Charlie Wilson's War, then one of us had the brilliant idea to take advantage of the Rock Band. Needless to say, we didn't get home until very late. Overall, it was a perfect day.

Tonight we are checking out the Grammy's. There have been a few highlights, but generally not too impressive. Right now I am watching Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis and their dueling pianos. That is definitely entertaining.

Before the Grammy's was Katie Couric and Hillary Clinton on 60 minutes. After the interview she spoke about John McCain not being able to show up for an interview. Here is something that Katie did that needs to stop:

"We look forward to having him on...
...in the near future."

There was a very pregnant pause between "on" and "in." Right in the middle of the sentence. Go ahead, say it out loud. You hear news anchors do it all of the time. It sounds so unnatural, Ms. Couric should probably knock it off. Of course, she is the professional, not me.


I will end this post with a picture of the darling coffee shop birds eating our sprinkle cookies. I don't think I will ever stop getting excited over all of the birds and squirrels that are running around this city. We even saw a mouse trying to get into a Slim Jim wrapper under the Metro tracks. Aw, cute.