It's Friday, I'm in Love

Wow.  This week has worn me out.  It's Friday and I'm just happy I made it this far.

Work's been crazy.  We did some babysitting - where I quickly learned that I know absolutely NOTHING about babies or taking care of them (and that the best way to get a baby fed is to give the baby to Blake, who does a much better job of mushed-pea-feeding than I do).  And some meal-bringing - where I continued my trend of over-estimating the amount of food I'll need and ended up with 10 pounds of pasta salad.  And found out some bad news - that Amazon Student is no longer going to provide me with free shipping.  Grr.

And in between those things we also watched some Alcatraz, suffered through a recent episode of 30 Rock (that show is getting worse and worse...and may even be demoted off our DVR schedule in the near future), and went to bed at times too-early-to-mention on a daily basis.  I blame the fatigue on my supposedly non-drowsy Claratin. 

Blake's been a trouper all week.  Even with a migraine headache and allergies, he still puts up with me when I do things like spending the morning griping about the weeds in our yard and cursing our lawn company.  In fact, because he knows how bothered I am by it, he not only put up with me, he puts in long calls to said yard company and got them to do what we want. 

That, my friends, is true love.

This photo has nothing to do with anything above...it's just that this nook in our bedroom makes me smile.  And I'm tired enough right now that I welcome any excuse to smile.

Blawesome Blossoms

To continue the theme of "I can't believe what a heavenly spring we're having!," Blake and I met up after work today for a quick dinner (with milkshakes, of course!) at Potbelly and a walk around the Mall and the Tidal Basin to admire the blossoms. 

Having the blossoms make such an early appearance this year is making the spring even more enjoyable.  Yesterday's beautiful weather brought out the masses, but it was much less crowded than in years past - and with far fewer tourists and far more suit-and-tennis-shoe-wearing after-hours government workers.  All those tourists that booked their flights for the cherry blossom festival festivities this weekend will have missed the peak. 

Here's hoping this mid-seventies weather lasts until the end of May.  A girl can dream, right?

P.S.  My iPhone's camera continues to amaze me.

Our house in the springtime gives me a perma-grin.

I know I know.  Every post I've written in the past couple weeks revolves around the beautiful spring we're having, but I just can't get over it.  Spring is by far my favorite season, and I never get tired of it.  It's our third year in our house, and I've been looking forward to our cherry blossoms for months. 

As happens every year, I catch people from all over the neighborhood stopping on the sidewalk or road in front of our house to take pictures.  And it is picturesque, don't you think?  The bright red house, the soft pink blossoms, the green grass and the round yellow forsythia bush?

They're not completely at their peak yet, but I am thinking they'll probably be at optimal blossom-ness this weekend.  You know what's even better?  They smell as good as they look!  When you turn onto our street you see a puffy pink cloud of blossoms and the closer you get the more you can smell them.  I was telling Blake this morning that I wish I could bottle up that scent and keep it all year round: the blossoms, the clean, fresh spring air, the forsythias.  Mmmm.  It's my idea of heaven.

It would be a crime not to enjoy springtime in DC.

The weather for the past two weeks has been so glorious that I can't imagine why anyone would want to live anywhere else.  That will change, come August, when my thoughts become "how could anyone ever want to live here?!", but for now I will defend DC to the end.  I strongly contend that there is no more beautiful city in all the world than DC in the springtime. 

I'd like to add below, as evidence, a picture from my morning commute.  For more pictorial proof, check out Janelle's weekend photos of the cherry blossoms.  Spectacular.

In other news...

...the unfinished portion of our basement still looks like a scene straight out of "Hoarders."

This weekend the madness ends and the organization begins.  Our new couch is scheduled for delivery tomorrow morning and after it's in place I'll begin the Great Stuff Migration back to that side of the basement.  Yep, only the great stuff will be moving.  I'm sensing a yard sale in our near future.

Justice in an informal setting.

One of the things I love about where I work is that we often have interesting/influential people come speak to the students...and the staff, too.

Justice Sotomayor came and spoke at an informal, off-the-record forum on Tuesday morning and I scored a seat up close.  It was a fairly small crowd- probably 150 of us in all - and Justice Sotomayor sat and talked for about half an hour and then answered questions for another half hour. 

I was surprised to see how much older she looks in person than she does in the news.  Also, I was struck by what an amazing public speaker she is.  She brought no notes with her and spoke eloquently, with nary an "umm" or pause for a full thirty minutes. 

She talked about the differences between the district, circuit and supreme courts, how it is to work with 8 other strong-willed people, how she got her start in law, and even about her time spent judging a dispute for Elmo on Sesame Street.  It was absolutely fascinating. 

When questioned about normative issues and the law, she called attention to a specific footnote on an opinion (not written by her, mind you) of three years ago.  Who has a memory that recalls that kind of detail!?  Incredible!  All politics aside, who wouldn't be impressed by that?

My favorite moment of the session was when a student got up to ask the Justice a question.  With tears streaking her face with mascara and a voice cracked with emotion, she preceded her question by heaping praise and admiration on Justice Sotmayor.  And Justice Sotomayor looked more than a little uncomfortable about the show of emotion.  Good stuff.

Decadent

Yesterday I did something I'd never done before.

I went to the nail salon and got a pedicure.  And it was SO luxurious.

The only problem was that I had no idea what to do.  Everyone else in the salon acted like they'd been there a million times - they were having all sorts of things done: nails, feet, eyebrows, makeup...and looked like regulars doing it. 

Wait.  You want me to test that water?  Ok.  reaches down and puts hand in water.

No no.  With feet.  Put feet in water to test.

Sheepishly.  Ok.  Yeah, feels good.  By the way, I have never had a pedicure before.

Looks at me blankly.  Sit here.  Put feet in water. 

So I sat there in the massage chair with my feet in the tub.  Watching the weather channel and flipping through a few smutty magazines and feeling uncomfortable without knowing what else to do.

After a few minutes, though, I gave in and let myself relax to the mechanical kneading of my back and the bubbling around my toes.  This is what I've been missing all this time?!

Twenty minutes later the massage and soaking part was done and I resumed my tin-man-like movements as the (what are they called?  nail technician? cuticle specialist?) lady maneuvered my stiff feet up and down, in and out of the water. 

Move up.  Tilt foot up.  Cut?  Add six dollar calming tablets to the water? 

No thanks.  Just the regular.

Eyes me like the cheapskate that I am.  No deluxe?  No french tips?  Move down.  Tilt foot down.  Back in water.

Nope, just the regular pedicure.  Please stop trying to up-sale me...I can't understand you and am worried I'll agree to something I don't want.

So I left with a bill for the regular pedicure and clean, callus-free feet, and sparkly cherry-red toes.  Oh, and a deeper understanding of why nail salons are always full despite the horrid chemical smell.

Project oriented

I wish I were more of a process-oriented person.  But I'm not.  I'm most definitely a project-oriented person.  I mean, I'm all about the details, but nothing pleases me more than checking off an item from my to-do list.  Some may call this OCD.  I just call it being organized.

So when staring down Saturday's errand list, I saw not only chores, but sparkling opportunity for project completion:

- Have oil and other fluids changed in the car.
- Drop off dry cleaning and pants for hemming.
- Investigate the new Martha Stewart organizational line at Staples for possible office clutter solutions.
- Return cracked frame at Michael's.
- Peruse Tuesday Morning for deals and a long-sought-after pie server (it's the little things in life that please me the most...)
- Cash a check at the bank.
- Have new anniversary watch fitted at Macys.
- Grocery shop.
- Put together and install our new garden arbour.

I was tickled pink when we'd finished the entire list by 5:00 p.m. and still had time/energy for a movie and dinner with friends. 

There's nothing better than a productive Saturday (especially one with beautiful weather and outdoor chores).

Sneak Peak

It's been so busy at work and the weather has been so beautiful lately that I've completely focused on those two things and almost forgot to post the "nearly done" photo of the basement.

We've still got a bunch of paint touch-ups to do and we still haven't moved furniture back in, but it's looking beautiful, no?  We're hoping our couch will be delivered in the next couple weeks and then we'll have a real christening party.  As for now, well, we're just enjoying the floors, the higher ceilings, the lighting and everything else by pumping up our iPhones on various Pandora channels and rocking out.