Catching Up

Things have been going well. My Dad came into town for Easter weekend so it was fun seeing him. The next weekend I volunteered at the Cherry Blossom Soccer Tournament and by doing so received a free ticket to the DC United game which was on Saturday night against the NY Red Bulls. I was also able to go see the Cherry Blossoms while they were in full bloom and they were quite beautiful. I love DC this time of year!

I have also been house/cat sitting for my sister and her husband. Their car Hunter is so much fun because he always wants to play, but he also gets into everything so you have to be on high alert at all times. It was also fun hanging out in Old Town. The weather was super nice over the weekend so we walked around a lot and ate and shopped.

My sister and her husband are out of town because they are in Boston - my brother in-law ran the Boston Marathon. Thankfully they are ok and weren't near the finish line when the bombings happened. He ran a spectacular race and I'm so proud of him, and also so happy they are all safe and sound.

Yesterday was a surprise birthday party for my friend Jeet, which was a good time - and I'm glad we were able to surprise him. This weekend my Mom is coming to visit so I'm excited to see her. Besides that I have been busy with work.

Visitors and the Aquarium

The boyfriends parents were in town for a week and we had so much fun during their visit.

While they were here we had some family dinners. My sister and her husband had dinner with the boyfriends parents, the boyfriend and I which was really fun. I also met the boyfriend's father's brother and his daughter when we all had dinner together. It was nice to meet more of his family, and to have his family meet mine.

The boyfriend and I took Wednesday off and the 4 of us headed up to Baltimore to visit the aquarium. We took the train up and from my place to the Inner Harbor and it took just over an hour, which wasn't bad at all.

There was a jellyfish exhibit which was really neat, and we saw a 4D film about salmon. But the Dolphin show was by far my favorite!

We spent over 4 hours there and didn't even see all the exhibits. After all that standing and walking around, we ate some delicious seafood, and took the train back to DC.

It was a full day, and was much more fun than being at work all day!

Weekend Update: The Circus

This past weekend was so much fun! After a long week at work, I went to Crossfit on Friday, which was the perfect way to unwind. We did a partner workout consisting of jumping rope and lifting dumbbells. I'm still sore from it today.

Saturday I thankfully slept in because it was quite a busy day. I treated myself to a massage - after all the working out I've been doing I needed it. After the massage, I headed home to quickly get ready because I was meeting my friends early evening for dinner before the circus. My friend Jessica invited the boyfriend and I to free tickets and a backstage tour at the circus!!!

After a quick bite to eat, we headed to the circus for a backstage tour. The Assistant General Manager walked us around backstage where we got to see all the animals in their cages, the props, and the costumes. It was so cool! Before the show started, we got to go out on the floor where there was some entertainment. We saw an elephant paint a picture, which was my favorite part.

Then it was time for the show to start. The show itself can best be described by one word: spectacular! The performers were top notch, incredibly talented, and thoroughly entertaining. I felt like a little kid again.

After the circus we met up with my old roommate Honore. Her 2 sisters were in town visiting from NY. We went to a trendy new hipster bar which was fun but after all the excitement I was tired so we didn't stay out too long.

Sunday was busy too, full of soccer games. Yesterday evening during my game it started snowing and hasn't stopped. I awoke to a winter wonderland outside - about 4 inches of snow! So much for that spring weather I've been waiting on.

Also, today is my little sister's birthday. Happy Birthday Erin!!!!

Spring Fever

My little sister informed me that I hadn't posted anything in 2 weeks so I figured I better write something.

I've been continuing with crossfit and really liking it. I had to take 3 essentials classes in order to learn all of the proper techniques. Then on Wednesday night I had my 1st real class. There ended up only being 4 of us in the class, which I don't think is the norm, but worked out because I got a lot of one-on-one help, which I really needed. It's been 4 days since the class and I'm still sore. My plan is try and go once a week (Wed) and then move to twice a week (Wed and Fri).

The boyfriend's parents are in town visiting from St. Louis. Today we all watched him run a half marathon which he did great at! It was fun to watch too.

Last weekend the weather ended being beautiful, so the boyfriend and I took full advantage. I did crossfit on Fri night, we played soccer on Saturday, and played 2 soccer games back to back on Sunday. It felt great being so active in the sunshine and warm weather.

The weekend before that my sister and her husband hosted a brunch at their house and then we watched a St. Patrick's Day parade in Old Town. It was tons of fun but the weather was so cold. We ended up in Starbucks for most of the parade.

Besides the out of town guests, Crossfit, and soccer, I've just been busy with work and keeping my apartment clean and uncluttered.

Wedding and Workouts

This past weekend the boyfriend and I attended the wedding of the boyfriend's friend from college. The wedding was at the Hotel Monaco in DC which is a venue I had never been to before. The wedding was a really good time, despite only knowing a few of the guests. The groom's family is from Haiti so the food all had an island theme to it which was fun and delicious.

This week started off with me not having any plans after work. Before I knew it, I had something going on every night.

Tuesday night I tried out a Crossfit class. It was the free Intro class so first we learned what Crossfit is, why its different, then we learned some terms and techniques, and finished up with an 8 minute workout. Overall the class was fun and I like that its something different each time. I have to take 3 more intro classes and then I can start going to the regular classes. The next class I am going to us Thursday so we'll see how that goes.

Wednesday night Jesica had a dinner party at her apartment to celebrate Julie's birthday. It was fun and the food Jesica made was delicious (apple walnut and goat cheese salad with pear and homemade pizza). Her table setting was gorgeous as well.

Thursday night I went with a co-worker to a WIN (women's information network) event. It was an award ceremony for women who have a made a difference in various areas (leadership, service, innovation, etc.) The keynote speaker was the president of Planned Parenthood and was very empowering. The event was really fun and definitely a good cause to celebrate.

Tonight after work is a dinner to celebrate Julie's birthday (again) and then this weekend is pretty full as well. Should be fun - I just wish the spring weather would get here soon!

Valentine's Day

Last week was Valentine's Day and my wonderful mother sent me 2 dozen cookies from a company called Monica's Gourmet Cookies. The cookies are so delicious and so rich and decedent, and way more amazing than any other homemade cookie I've ever had.

The next day I receive another box of cookies, this time addressed to my sister Erin (but at my address). I called my mom to tell her and she said just to keep the cookies, and they were remaking Erin's cookies to send to her.

So now I have 4 dozen cookies to eat up. I froze most of them since I didn't want any to go bad, but I will be eating cookies for the foreseeable future.

Long Weekend

This past weekend was a long weekend (I got off Monday for President's Day, but the boyfriend did not). Friday we just had a relaxing night in, Saturday we watched the Arsenal game, went to Target and I got a few household items I had been wanting, including a vacuum, and we saw the new Die Hard movie. Sunday I had soccer and Monday night I had my old roommate over for dinner.

All in all it was quite fun and a good mix of productive and relaxing. Also, having Monday off means its already Tuesday and after that there's only 3 more days until Friday :) This makes Ethan (my teddy bear - wearing my glasses) very happy!