Asking for It

I purposely waited to post this until my parents were safely in Israel, because I didn't want my mom to worry. Everything is fine now, and there is nothing she could have done to help from Utah, so I didn't want to stress her out! So, since my parents are now happily in Capernaum on vacation, I can post it. =)

Oh, what an adventure Wednesday was! It started snowing during my work day, and it snowed and snowed and snowed. At about 4:30, my boss called and told me to leave early since all my work was done. I wrapped up what I was doing and pulled my car out of the parking garage at 4:45. I couldn't even turn out of the garage in the direction I would normally go because traffic was apparently backed up from the main roads for MILES. I took a completely different route home. At one point the guy in front of me got cut off (because DCers + snow= stupidity x 2), and since he had just cut me off (though not nearly as badly) I ended up rear-ending him. Luckily it was only a love tap (if your into the whole tough-love thing), and the only real consequence was actually positive: it knocked all the snow off both our cars.

After two hours of driving, I was nearly home and at a dead stop. My housemate called me to tell me a different route home, and I took it. Unfortunately, snow covered the road signs, and I ended up turning one road too soon. When I ended up in someone's driveway, I figured something was wrong! As I was turning around, my car died. It works now, but long story short, it would not work then. The people who lived there were very nice and helped me push it into their driveway. They also let me leave it there until the road was cleared out and it was running, which was INCREDIBLY kind!

Sooo, I started walking out to a main road, where my housemates came and picked me up. They were armed with shovels to dig me out, but since the car wasn't starting and was in a safe place, we decided to leave it there for a while.

We stopped at the grocery store on the way home, and the lights started flickering for an extended period of time. Turns out a transformer just outside the store was blowing out:

This picture was taken long after the sun had set. That is just how bright the blowout was. Crazy, eh? After that, the power was out at the store (luckily they had generators) and our house, which is about a block away from the store. We had a fun roommate night with the power out. We ate and played games and made hot chocolate. It was pretty fun!

The next morning, we got my car started, but couldn't get it out of the snow in the neighborhood we had left it in. The residents were once again very helpful!

After that, my roommate Katy drove me to work. It was kind of crazy. There were trees and branches down everywhere, and people had just left their cars in the middle of the road when they got stuck or frustrated. Seriously, DCers? At least get to a side lane! It was madness.

After work, I metroed up near my house, and my housemate Mike picked me up and took me to my car, which we finally got home. There was much rejoicing!

We were without power until Saturday morning. Friday night, we could see our breath in our house, so the three of us that were home packed up some things and stayed at the home of the Ladies of Dorchester. Thanks, Ladies!

All in all, it was a crazy weekend. It's supposed to sleet tonight. I don't even want to think about it! I'm also a little afraid I brought this on myself by making this picture my facebook profile pic:

This is from last year's February Snowmageddon. THAT was madness. =)

Backblogging

I'm trying to catch up on my blogging over the last 14 months, so if you see random posts for different dates, that is why. I will also try to simultaneously blog about more current things in my life. I know I've been a slacker in this department, but you can't say I didn't give fair warning: I struggle with the blogging!

A Sonnet: What Is This Heart?

A mansion where each person has a room
Whose foot hath threshold crossed and heart found home,
Where surely love's pure flower slow doth bloom
And waits for those who blithely now do roam.
For each will take his turn to fly away,
And many who have gone will not return.
But while, in other hearts, the feelings fade,
Here love is freely given and not earned.
Though many who have entered here have scoffed
And left their suite abandoned to the dust,
The mansion's keeper visits each room oft
And tends the fire there, because she must.
So if you enter in, please do your part,
For you will change forever this: my heart.

A Christmas Carol

For our ward Christmas party 2009, our bishopric arranged to take us all to A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theater (where President Lincoln was assassinated, for you history dunces). We all got together at the church and had a ward dinner. It was delicious. Then those who had signed up to go and helped purchase tickets walked to the metro and metroed down to Ford's theater.

This is a small group of the people that went (L to R): Susan, Molly Carl, me, Sally, Sarah, Adam and Merry.

Before the show, we got to look through the museum in the basement of the theater. It was really nice! I got a book about the theater, which I still have not read (despite the fact that I'm writing this over a year later... Don't judge). This is me with Abe.
Umm... Most people would consider my picking the nose of an iron cast of the president's death mask to be inappropriate, but if you know me, it's probably not too shocking.
Some men... Jeez.

The show was AMAZING! I absolutely loved it. It's rare that I so thoroughly enjoy myself at a theater performance. I usually spend too much time thinking about the logistics and how it could have been done better, but this show was impeccable! Wow!

Thanksgiving 2009

So, Thanksgiving 2009 was spent in D.C. at the apartment of Adam, Carl and Steve. We fried turkeys. In the apartment. In a deep fryer. IN THE APARTMENT. Just thought I'd make that part clear. In this second picture, if you look closely, you will see that Carl is behind Steve, using him as a human shield against the oil while shielding Steve from the oil with the lid. At one point, I was recruited to the team. Luckily there is no evidence of this, so Mom can't kill me. =)
Super Steve supervises Myles in the carving of the turkey as I look on in amazement. Yay for great friends!
We all wanted to nap after we ate, but frankly, Laura slept enough for all of us. She slept through at least three hours of Rockband being played right next to her, and Ciara is not a quiet singer. Bless her heart. (Says the kettle.)
This was our pie collection. My stomach expands just thinking about it.
Rockband! We had SO much fun. Laura enjoyed as well, when she finally woke up. It must have been some sort of power nap, because she broke the drumset!
Carl kindly held up the broken portion of drums while we finished the song. =)

All around, a success! Thanksgiving 2009 was so much fun!

November Trip Home

November 2009 called for a quick trip home to visit. I had a few days off in a row, so I hopped on a plane and flew in. I got a rental car and drove straight to a friend's wedding. It was a lovely wedding! Then I went to my sister Ember's house for a visit. I stayed a few nights and got to visit with family for a few days. It was a fun short trip for a weekend!

Plus, Ember and I got matching pajamas! Reminds me of the good ol' days. =)

Philly

Your Rachelized Tour of Philadelphia

November 7, 2009 (with Adam, Merry, Myles, Sarah and Teresa)

I had the chance to go to Philly with some friends in November. We had all sorts of fun running around for a day. It was great! I hadn’t been there since my “8^th Grade Trip” (as we Deltans like to call it). It was interesting to think about what I remembered and what different things stood out to me then and now.

The first place we visited was the Liberty Bell.

It’s housed in a museum dedicated solely to explaining the significance of the bell. The bell itself is surrounded by window almost three quarters of the way around, so you can also see it from the outside; however, if you want to see the infamous crack, you have to go inside. =)

We also went to Independence Hall, which is where the Declaration of Independence was signed. We didn’t make it there in time to get tickets inside, but it is one of the things I remembered from the summer of ’98. I remember thinking it was such an awesome place, and recognizing that I could feel the spirit there.

We went to the Old City Hall, where the U.S. Supreme Court met between 1791 and 1800. It was pretty nifty. I know the first pic is interesting, but I like it anyway. Make sure to read the sign in the last one. Kinda pointless... =)

We went to the Philosophical Hall, where there was a display of Darwin’s books. We tried to be intellectual, but mostly I think we were just a nuisance!

This is a pretty cool statue called "The Signer". =)

There is a lot of Ben Franklin history in Philly. We went to the Ben Franklin Underground Museum (named so because it is all underground… trippy!). My favorite part of that museum (and the main reason we went there) was because they had a demonstration of the armonica, which is a pretty cool instrument good ol’ Ben invented back in the day when playing water glasses was a key form of entertainment. These days you hear this instrument in the Harry Potter soundtrack.

This museum also wins the award for the most pointless exhibit. We never really figured out what it was all about, and most of it didn’t work…

This is a picture of me walking through the same passage Ben Franklin walked through to get to and from his home. Let’s just say I was slightly more enthused about this than my friends! I like the idea of walking where other awesome people have walked. =)

We went to Christ Church (if you don’t know what that is, here is the website.). We were all pretty tired at that point, but we were trying hard to stay focused. I maybe kinda fell asleep…

Benjamin Franklin’s grave is at the burial grounds at Christ Church.

Ooo… Elfreth’s Alley was also pretty cool. Lots of little houses were crammed in there. It reminded me very much of the U.K.. We were lucky enough to be there just when the 2^nd Annual Philadelphia Tweed Ride came through. It was fantastic! Also, I saw a window-box with peppers in it instead of flowers, which I loved.

We saw The Hulk on the street and then got some yummy desserts at the tiniest little walk-up bakery EVER!

Then we got back in the cars and drove over to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which is home to the steps from “Rocky”. We took some pictures at the statue in the middle of the roundabout, which was an interesting statue. Then we got pictures with the Rocky statue, us running up the stairs and our feet by his feet.

After that we headed over to Geno’s to finish the day right with some Philly Cheesesteak. I have to say that I was kind of scared, having had a bad cheesesteak experience in my childhood, but I liked it. Plus, I got a free pen for “having to buy my own sandwich.” Apparently a girl like me should have had a date to buy one for her on a Saturday night. Go figure. =)

All in all, it was a great day! Thanks to Merry for supplying most of the picture, and to Myles for driving when I was too tired. Thanks to Teresa for finding me a bathroom on the way there =), and to Adam, Merry and Sarah for supplying my car with *ahem* such awesome music...