It's Officially Official!

Thanks to a rip in the space-time continuum that is the hiring timeline in the government, I have a permanent position here in DC.

Yep! That means that my little adventure has been extended indefinitely. I will be with a new court and in a different role, but I will still be rocking the judiciary.

Here's to the many more adventures I will have and all that will come!

Friendsgiving DC Edition

Colorado traditions hold that the Saturday before Thanksgiving is the Saturday before Thanksgiving is Friendsgiving. (Working on my petition to Congress to make it an official holiday.)

Since all of my friends in Colorado were celebrating and I was not able to attend, naturally, I had to have a Friendsgiving in DC!

Since there are a lot of people at work that are doing the same program as me, we decided to make a TDY Friendsgiving. We all happen to live in apartments, and it happened that three people lived in the same building. We thought that a progressive dinner would be fun so there would be space, ovens, and split the dishes. Of the three places, we split the evening into appetizers, main course, and dessert.

There was lots of food, wine, and merriment to be had!

I didn't snap any pics of the appetizer part of the evening, but that was quite a spread in itself.

Socializing between courses.

Calico Salad, Meat Lovers Green Bean Casserole (if I had my proper casserole dish, it would have been better), Candied Yams.

Sausage, Bacon and Sage Stuffing, Copper Pennies

Brussel Sprouts, Vegan Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Cornbread

Turkey, Gravy with BACON, Cranberry Relish, Wine Reduction, and Tri-tip

Tryptophan nap time.

Walking between houses between courses.

Apple Walnut Cake, Ice Cram, GF Pumpkin Pie, Vegan Apple Pie (not pictured)

A Weekend in the District...Finally

For my first full weekend in the District, of course I would have things going on.

My friend Caitlin (who I went to visit the previous weekend in Boston) was in town for her niece's birthday. Since I've known her and her family for over 20 years, I made the trip up to Maryland. My drive through Chevy Chase made me realize I want to life there when I grow up...and have $1 million for a house...and what not. I also want to say I live in Chevy Chase because I also love Chevy Chase. Get it?

I also celebrated Founder's Day with the DC and Northern Virginia Alumnae chapter for my sorority. It was nice to take part in some of the ceremony that we do all over the country this time of year. In addition, we also celebrate sisters that have been inducted into the Golden Circle. That means that they have been a sister for 50 years. Pretty awesome, if you ask me.

Leaving the weekend to not much else over errand running and sleep, it was a nice little weekend. This upcoming weekend should be a doozie since I have four days off...Thank you Veterans and a flex schedule.

White House Gardens Tour

A couple of weekends ago, Chelle (you know, Mrs. Obama), invited me over to walk through the gardens around the White House.

OK, so it wasn't exactly a personal invite, but she probably read the letter welcoming me before she allowed someone to print her signature with it in the pamphlet I received. So, same thing.

It was amazing to get thisclose to the White House and see some of the iconic places like the Rose Garden, Jackson's magnolias, and the kitchen garden. It was a gorgeous fall day with sunshine and just enough of crispness in the air that it was nice in the sun.

On my way to the gardens, Chelle and Barry had to leave for the MLK dedication, so they left me to wonder within a well structured path lined with volunteers and armed guards. So warm and comforting.

Chelle and Barry whisking away to MLK

View from the Green Room: Washington Monument, National Christmas Tree, and fountain.

Knock knock

The not-so-full-of-roses-Rose Garden

I spy with my little eye a Monarch butterfly

Chelle's other hundred closest besties

Mama likes a spicy meat-a-ball

Gorge.

Like I said, flowers and automatic weapons.

Taste of DC

The Taste of DC is a three-day event that shuts down 4 blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue and dedicates it to food, booze, and music. There are amazing treats, eats, bites, and tastes from hundreds of DC area eateries. Trust me. It's amazing.

Groupon is a co-sponsor, so through the magic of the internet, me and my friend Liz managed to score a great deal on tickets and admissions to the front row of Big & Rich concert and the Bier Garden. Knowing I'm not able to partake in beer, we didn't spend much time there.

Anyway, I thought that I would tell you about some of the eats hat I had. Well, really, I'll tell you that I had some chocolates, some pad thai, and the cream cheese frosting cap from a Sprinkles cupcake because the cake part was not their usual deliciousness, but what I really what to tell you about is the rice pudding.

Now, you make be, like me, thinking, "Ewwwww....tapicoca?" but you would be wrong. First, it's served warm. Second it's peanut butter flavored. That's right. It's like warm peanut butter yumminess. And this stuff was AMAZING. The best part? That wasn't even everything that he wanted to dress it with. He had run out of marshmallows to roast, chocolate sauce, and chocolate-covered bacon. You see, this wasn't just any rice pudding, the menu read: Peanut Butter S'more Rice Pudding with Chocolate-Covered Bacon. Seriously, just blogging about it makes my mouth water. Totally going to experience their whole menu at the restaurant. Even if it's just the dessert menu.

It's like spring break for foodies.

Big & Rich in the main stage.

Hard core hard cider [temporary] tat.

Since we're special, we scored full-size Sprinkles cupcakes for the price of the minis.

Cute little opening band.

Fall Kickball Season

We're already into Week 4 of DC Liberty Kickball, but seeing as I missed weeks 2 & 3 from illness and traveling, in that order, I'm really only behind by a week.

This season, the Declawed Kittens are forest green (not the best option) and confusing the hell out of the league. We are pretty well put together when it comes to fielding and batting, so we are presently a top-ranked team with a 3-0-1 record. Pretty awesome considering the season before, we eeked out a winning season and before that (and before me), they had only won one game.

But enough about the team. Let's talk about how I rocked it.

Last night was my first at-bat for the season. (Game 1 was due to time constraints and I was at the bottom of the order.) I was nervous that I would be in the middle of the order and really did not want to get out on my first at-bat since May. I didn't have to worry, though. I not only batted twice, I got on base twice! That's right. I'm batting a thousand. Oh, and I scored after my first at-bat. I'm kind of a rock star.

Now, I'm sure that you're thinking I have a little of an inflated ego, but let's be clear, I'm told so. How so? I was game co-MVP!!! That? Was also after I didn't field. I'm like the American League that pays a batter just to be a batter rather than get an all-around player like the National League. (Go Rockies.)

Now onto the grainy, bar-lit, cell phone picture portion of the post:

Post-win awesomeness

PIC - Season 2, with devil eyes in the background

Pre-game awesomeness. With a LivingSocial deal of $1 for $10 of food and drink during happy hour? OK!

What it looks like to get woken up by a bouncer when you can't hang post-kickball.

Redskins vs. Giants

Better late than never, so deal.

On Sunday, September 11, I went to the Washington Redskins game. They played the NY Giants. An epic match up for such a somber moment in American history. Not being a Redskins fan, but a fan of all things Manning brothers, I got myself a little red, white, and blue for the game.

Gen. Colin Powell was the coin tosser and there were a lot of first responders at the game to be honored.

I have some ponderings about Redskins football, though. They have a marching band and a fight song. I was not aware that teams past college had such traditions. Interesting to say the least.

Also, there's a guy in our section who smuggles in candy bars to throw up in the stands when the Redskins score. Kind of creepy when he's wearing sweatpants in 80 degrees and it's chocolate.

The whole crew at FedEx Field

Lounging in our combined tailgate with our new friends.

Who brings a wok to tailgate? This guy.

Staying cool in the white before game time.

Did not know that an NFL team had a marching band.

Ready to run out.

Amazing seats.

The flag as big as the field. 

All in all, a great start to the football season!

Adventures to Be Had...

...if I were in DC.

Will post soon about some of the random goings on in DC. This weekend is the Taste of DC, so I'll definitely let you know how it goes and the new found restaurants that we find!

Oh, and I'll update about my trip to the Redskins game against the NY Giants (I know, I know, it's from last month.)

Oh, and the start to the kickball season...once I've been to more than one game.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

This past weekend, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial was set to open and a dedication was planned. However, with Irene's double booking in the area, the dedication was postponed.

It worked out in my favor because I was able to visit Dr. King myself and admire the memorial. Dr. King's stoic gaze over the Tidal Basin is surrounded by his powerful words.

From the sunset

Enlightening generations

The memorial is awesome and a long-time coming. However, I am a little peeved that the "artist" took some "artistic license" with some of the quotes from Dr. King. For example, the Washington Post article pointed out the most obvious misquote emblazoned on the side of the memorial:

"I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness."

Dr. King's actual quote from the end of a speech called The Drum Major Instinct:

"Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter."

If you have ever heard Dr. King's speeches, you know that he was not boastful, but humble. Take the words out of context make him sound arrogant almost. It's unfortunate that someone wasn't able to correct the quote, but like so many things, they didn't bother to consult with me.

If you have a chance, take some time to visit the memorial and take in all the positiveness and change that Dr. King helped bring about in time of turmoil. Such an inspiration.

Mother Nature's Vacation in the District

From where DC sits geographically, we are pretty far inland. Granted we are not that far above sea level and there are many a river, and you know, like a whole BAY nearby, but for hurricane-like weather, we're kind of sheltered.

That brings me to Irene. I know that they have to tell you the worst, and hope for the best. I fared well because I never lost power and there wasn't any flooding. In fact, Sunday was a beautiful, gorgeous, sunny day.

Irene felt more like a tropical depression than a hurricane from where I hunkered down. Granted, it rained all day and there were some heavy winds, but nothing that frightened me. Heck, there wasn't even a lightening show. All in all, I will take my point for survival of a major storm and add it to the list of marketable skills for a zombie apocalypse.

The calm before the storm...Friday night.

As the first bands rolled in DC

The windiest part of the storm.

Survival gear: flashlight, candle, smoothie, and water.