A hiking we must go...

Matt and I recently took a day and headed out to the place we first hiked together. It was just as fun as I had remembered, only this time the trees were changing and the mountains were covered with dark orange and yellow. It was truly beautiful. A sight to see.
It always reminds me of just how amazing our God truly is. It's always so nice to escape the city and visit the peaceful mountains and fresh air around us.



Needless to say, on our way back, we decided we didn't want to live outside the beltway. It would take HOURS to get to work, but that is a whole other story for another time.

The return of my freshman year...

You can take the girl out of Oklahoma but you can't take the clumsiness out of the girl.
I don't know if you know me, but I tend to be a little clumsy in my step from time to time, and well, moving here has not changed that aspect about me at all. I never hurt myself physically except maybe bruising the pride a little, but other than that I am usually fine.

You may or may not recall my freshman year when I fell in my Gen Psych class with 150+ of you watching. Did I mention this happened on my FIRST DAY of my Fr. year? Terrified, I sat in the first seat I saw with everyone in the class staring at me. Then just when I thought all had forgotten about it (mid class) Dusty Davis leans down and says "Watch out for those stairs, they'll get you every time."

I was feeling pretty confident about myself this morning, which is usually when tragedy strikes my steps. As I was coming up out of the metro at Union Station along with everyone else who works on Capitol Hill, taking my first to cross the street my foot slips. I was so shocked when I all of a sudden I found my self on my butt! I mean, STUNNED! I quickly picked myself up as though it was all one motion in hopes that no one would see me, but I have a feeling they all saw this situation go down (literally). The man walking next to me asked if I was all right, which was very sweet. I answered "I'm good, thanks." and quickly walked shamelessly with my head down the rest of the way to our building. Now you would think I would be in the clear at this point as those around Union Station disperse to their own places of business, but as I was waiting for the elevator in my building one of my coworkers walked by and asked if I was okay. :( I sadly said "yes, thank you." and again shamelessly slinked myself onto the elevator and into our office. I hope this isn't an omen for the rest of my day.

Off to the races...

I don't even know where to begin! After 3 years of living in DC, I went to my very first High Heeled Drag Race. It's exactly what it sounds like... Men dressin' in drag and taking a jog down 17th St. in Dupont Circle. Let me just say it was quite the site to see!! As we stood there freezing, the energy of men in makeup walking the street in a parade like manner showing off their fashion and faces kept us warm all night long! I won't give away the winner, mainly just b/c you don't want to see that picture...but I can say, his heels were more of a wedge which we think is cheating.

Some co workers and I gathered the streets after work for the Dragging extravaganza! I had no idea what I was getting into!


Mary Kay was my favorite (naturally)!


Ace and Gary! (not really drag but still funny)


Michelle Obama made an appearance.


For every Michelle there was a Sarah Palin.


And lest we not forget the women from Texas.


And this is just a taste. All I have to say is if you ever get a chance to witness the drag racing situation, take full advantage! It's like a car crash! You just can't look away!

To Mandy's House I go

I of course don't take any pictures of Mandy and me. It was all about Vivian as she turned 1 whole year old the day I arrived into town. I naturally couldn't put her down as she was more fun than watching Golden Girls! (which for me says a lot).

There is nothing better than a lazy Sunday afternoon, a package of oreos, a glass of milk, your best friend and of course Sex and the City the movie.





I didn't even get to take pictures of Tams, or Dara when I saw them. Maybe I'll have Mandy send me some...

Needless to say, Viv and I had a blast, she told me she did! Mandy and I did too...

A week of giving thanks.

I think this little face of my 1 year old niece says it all about our Thanksgiving holiday this year...
It was goooooooooood. I looked like this at one point, but opted not to put my picture up for you to see.
Matt and I escaped DC to the great state of OKLAHOMA! And not just Oklahoma, Ft. Gibson, OK! For me, this quaint little town with two stop lights, is the greatest place to call "home". It was nice to slow down for a minute, catch up with friends and enjoy time with family.
We did everything from eat to shop on Friday (which is a bad idea) to sit in the freezing cold at the OSU/OU game.
On the great day we all were there to celebrate, Thursday Nov 27, 2008, we didn't just do Thanksgiving. When the Perry's get together, it's an extravaganza.
At 12:30 Thursday Nov. 27, 2008 the Perry family celebrated Thanksgiving. There was a ton of turkey, casseroles, stuffing and the always present cranberry sauce. At 1:30 Thursday Nov. 27, 2008 the Perry family celebrated my 29th birthday (the sequel), and finally at 2:00pm Thursday Nov. 27, 2008 the Perry family celebrated Christmas with Matt and I since we will be at the Hooker family's house on Christmas this year. It was quite the day!
Matt experienced his first Bedlam game! For me, there is nothing better than sitting in a sea of orange. It was a great game, but of course we went home saddened the Cowboys couldn't quite pull it off. We couldn't decide which was worse, sitting in the freezing cold or losing the game...


...either way, we had fun!





After a week in Oklahoma and 5 lbs later, Matt and I hopped on a plane or two and got back to DC at 1:30 this morning. It's nice to be back, but now I have to do laundry.

Things I do for friends...

There is a VERY cool place here in the area that has this huge outdoor amptheater where some incredible concerts are held. They have various artists and types of music throughout the summer from opera to Les Mis to Gladys Knight to Hootie and the Blowfish. It's a very fun place to go and relax on a warm summer night and listen to some great music.
Well, I went with a friend to the Indigo Girls concert. Now, I know a few songs, and by few I mean 2. Soo, as I am sitting there, enjoying the music, I notice I'm one of 3 people out of thousands who don't really know what's going on, but I am just tapping my foot to the music. UNTIL, the ONE song I know begins to play and literally the ENTIRE place erupted. People were to their feet faster than they could say everyone up! It was quite the night, but a great concert! If you ever come to town. Ask someone how to get to WolfTrap.

Even I think I should be arrested...

Okay. So here's what happened. I was walking to the front of our office to get some water from the kitchen, always glancing in the conference room to see who is being interviewed today. Well, on this particular day, it was Tim Daly and Richard Schiff and an unnamed lady with her back to me. I naturally start gawking at the front desk, like HOLY CRAP, TIM DALY! My coworker was really excited for Richard Schiff, as she is a HUGE West Wing fan. Well, after 3 walk arounds to "get water", we decided it was best for me to just go out and get coffee. So, me and three other co workers went downstairs and got some fresh air, and who walks out... and ! I KNOW! So, I was TOOTALLY rubber necking and needed to flee from myself for a moment. So, we breezed past them and headed toward Starbucks just around the corner. Well, they start "following us" and wind up walking on the opposite side of the street as us, but ultimately end up right behind us in line! I'm FLIPPING OUT on the inside. If you know me at all, you know that I can't hide a single emotion if you paid me. Well, I'll keep my stalker story short. Everyone kept cutting in front of my friend, including the two of them. Once Mr. Schiff realized what had happened he apologized, but she dismissed it by telling him "You're lucky I like West Wing so it's okay". I'm just staring at Tim like, holy crap I just saw you this morning on "Wings"! I couldn't really get any words out until we left and I yelled out "BYE" to them on our way out the door. I looked really stupid, but it was sooo worth it!

God Bless America!!

Well, tonight I did something I had heard about since I moved here. It was something I just "had to go see", as what most had told me. Well, I gave in and went.
At the Washington DC Marine Corps Barracks on Friday nights there is the Marine Corps parade. I honestly thought it was going to be an actual parade...in the streets...not so much.
I go with two girls that Matt used to work with at his previous position, whom I become good friends with. Anyway, the 3 of us get to the barracks and are literally escorted by a Marine to our entrance gate. One of the girls in my group gets hit on and stalked by this little guy who just wanted a date, but she has other plans in life, bless his little heart.
We were escorted to our seats and sit down in bleacher seats inside what is literally barracks. The scene is really indescribable, but I'm going to do my best. It's about as long as a football field and as wide as a tennis court from wall to wall. On one end of this massive field is this HUUUUUUUUUUGE mansion where the Marine Commandeer lives. I learned that the Commandeer is THE head guy of the Marines. I was hoping to be asked over for cake and tea, but no go...I had to get home.
These buildings that surrounded us were beautiful and HUGE! It was just so amazing to hear the history, but sadly it was coming from a guy who was screaming information at us over crowd noise.
Okay, I'll get to the good stuff!
The Presidential Marine Corps Band comes out and plays us a few tunes, there is some yelling of commands and what not, THEN, out walks this massive wall of men in uniform with gun in tow, marching to the cadence of the band playing. They slam guns down and do all of this stuff and what not, and there are just so many of them and the beat of their motions is resonating off of the concrete buildings around us. I blinked every time they moved!
We stood for the National Anthem, and in my eye shot was this 80-90 year old man and his adoring wife standing there with such resilience, dignity and pride. He stood there so proudly, knees bent, and was at as much attention as his little spine would allow, saluting as though he had never forgotten his belief in our great nation and standing next to the woman who carried his heart, holding his hand. It was really at that moment I caught a knot in my throat. You could hear the murmur of the crowd singing along to our nations song, getting louder with ever measure, and I just looked at this little man and I thought to myself, "I hope one day, our generation will be as proud of our country as this kind soul who fought so hard for where we are today." I too, in that moment, stood there proud to be an American, catching a glimpse of true patriotism.
When that was over, the men and their guns marched on to the field. They moved in silence to the cadence of the beat in their heads and twirled those guns, made those turns and kicked their heels with such precision it was truly AMAZING!! THEEEN...they all line up throwing their guns up in the air and all this stuff I'll spare you details to, but it was just so awesome!
THEN, they closed out with the drum and bugle corps. Of course they played my favorite "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" in none other than accompany B!

They had a whole ceremony and what not, but they closed the whole even by pulling the massive flag off of the massive flag pole, and one sole man on top of the building in front of us...spot light on him...playing taps.
As my dad would say, "Now that'll put a knot in your throat now, I'm tellin' ya!" And it was true. After seeing the preciseness of what these men do, not just on this field but in the field of battle or in peace, they stand tall and are proud to "support and defend". And you know what, I am too. No matter your political belief, you are Americans, and I don't know about you but I am proud of it.
God Bless America!

What's your color

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Orange

You're a bold, confident orange. A warm, powerful color that indicates a strong, welcoming personality, orange is the mark of people who are social and extroverted by nature. Vibrant, with an upbeat attitude, you have a bright, inviting demeanor. Energetic and fun-loving, you're a real friend-magnet. Your easy charm and unassuming manner make you the sort of person people want to meet and get to know better. Well-rounded and fun to be around, you enjoy helping others, so it's no surprise that orange also symbolizes attraction. Orange is an extraordinary color — for an extraordinary person.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=colorogt&c=50652

Pope and Circumstance...

As you may or may not know...the Pope, or Papal as some call him, was just in town. It was amazing to see a city's/ country's reaction to one man. I have seen Queen Elizabeth on the White House lawn, which was a pretty big deal, but hher arrival to our country was nothing compared to this one man's entry into our great nation. People...THOUSANDS of people trains,plains, and automobiled it into our city to catch a glance at what some call "the connection to God". The city shut down for the days he was here. Metro was offering the "Mass Pass" for the day of Mass, which people started toward at 5 am on that Spring Thursday morning. I must admit, it would have been cool to see such a powerful yet gentle figure of our time, but vacation time is precious to me. Jenn saw the top of his head from the fountain on the White House lawn, but I had to stay behind and work...bummer I KNOW! He road his "Popemobile" all over the city, which would have been just as fun to see as it would have been to see him. We had 46,000 people show up to our Nationals Stadium for the Pope's first Mass on US soil, but still again, the closest I got to seeing him was on my computer screen at work, while catching the action on the live cam on msnbc.com. And yes, Dara, I would have paid money to introduce myself to the Pope as a Hooker! Maybe next time.

When the Egg Roll is called up yoooonder...

This morning I woke up at the butt crack of 6:30am to meet Jenn to partake in the National Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn. She had invited me and a couple from church with two VERY cute and animated children (Grace and Alex). We get there to wait in a tent and then we were herded over to the White House where secret service felt it necessary to take my apple and granola bar (afternoon snacks). I'm not bitter. Well, not as bitter as Grace was when they took her jelly beans. I guess if protecting our President is THAT important then we both sadly handed over the goods.
We saw lots of bunnies and story book characters. I REALLY wanted my picture taken with Raggedy Ann and Andy, but Jenn thought that shoving a child out of my way might be thought of as wrong on sooo many levels. WHATEVER! I'm a kid at heart and I think that counts for something.
The kids did the ever so famous rolling of the eggs, which was quality entertainment at it's finest. We then stood in the 39degree weather to wait for the famous Easter Bunny and the President and First Lady to come out and say "hello"! It was chaos at it's finest. Children were everywhere, and the natives were getting restless to say the least.
Meanwhile I was looking around for Troy Aickman who was there to read a book to all the kiddos. I personally wanted him to read a book to me, but that's another story for another time (matt knows my aching for Aickman, he's okay with it. He has Jessica Simpson). It's all about the kids today.
Once the President, First Lady, Easter Bunnies, Jenna Bush and Barbra Bush all came out of the house to say "hello", we watched as the President blew the whistle that officially started the egg rolling festivities. Then we went to hear Laura and Jenna read a book to hundreds of children who probably cared more about the stuffed people walking around, as Alex was one in search for a yo yo. The parents however, were push to shove to get a glance at such an elegant woman as Laura. I have to say...girl crush, just a smidge. Did I mention that the Jonas brothers sang the National Anthem? Yeah, the lead forgot a couple of words and made it up. It was pretty funny.
Well, Jenn and I left Grace, Alex and their parents to enjoy the festivities as a family, while Jenn and I had to get to work. Not before we got our Easter pic taken and a little wave to Elmo and Gordon who joined us all of the way from Sesame Street. Oh to be a kid again!
and ps. the Cherry Blossoms are well into bloom!!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Matt and I just got back from Virginia Beach visiting his family for the weekend. It was relaxing and nice to get away from here again and get to see my new family. I basically played with my 2 year old nephew all weekend! He's soooo cute, and I feel that I can really relate to him on some levels. I understand how hard life can be when your sippy cup gets clogged.
The Easter Bunny showed up this afternoon after church and had eggs scattered all over the back yard, so naturally I elbowed the kid out of the way to find the "prize egg". He found it first! So, here are some pics from our weekend at the Beach.
Enjoy!

Pics of the day...

Well, I promised you pics from the 2 day protesters. Let me just say, some of them are a little disturbing in order to make their point.
A day in the life of DC: