Celebrating the Olympics

The Olympic games are well underway and my patriotism is bigger than ever before. Not only am I proud to support Team USA and their stylish Polo getups, but I have multiple friends and hometown heroes that I'm excited to cheer on.

During the 2008 Summer Olympics, a high school friend, Elaine Breeden rocked the 200 meter butterfly and won silver. Unfortunately she did not make the team this year, but I'm still proud.
Lexington natives Lee Kiefer and Tyson Gay are representing Team USA in fencing and track.

They aren't the only people representing the great state of Kentucky in London. There are nearly 100 Asburians there as well. They are working with the local news station WLEX writing articles, creating short videos and even keeping a blog. Of course I've been ridiculously jealous and sad that I am not there with them sharing in all the fun. Thankfully I wasn't the only one left behind. The few of us remaining decided to have an opening ceremony celebration of our own.

My friends Laura and Katie invited several of us over to watch the ceremony, so of course we ate lots of junk food like good college kids do. I made red, white and blue cupcakes with "Go USA" written on them and Zach brought the necessary ingredients for loaf.

                                                       

I was really proud and Katie was really happy

I tried to google loaf to see if I could find a better explanation for it, but it seems that the rest of the world hasn't discovered it yet. Basically, it's a cookie dough log that has been baked and is eaten with ice cream. It's best to eat it one part cookie and one part ice cream on your spoon. If you enjoy eating raw cookie dough, this is a good way to satisfy that craving without the fear of salmonella. Very sweet and very filling, but so good.

This isn't everyone that was there, but the chef and sous chefs that made loaf.

I've missed these people and am so happy and excited to be around them 24/7 again, starting Thursday. That's right, Thurday and I'm back at Asbury. It can't be here soon enough.

My Last Weekend in DC

It is so hard to believe that I will be heading home a week from today. I've had awesome experiences and a blast while in DC/Virginia. The Weckerleins have been wonderful hosts and I am going to miss city life. I do miss the Bluegrass State and will be glad when Ruby (my truck) is part of my daily commute again.

I have made an effort to hit some of the touristy spots while here and have been successful for the most part.

Last Sunday, the Weckerleins, Julie's friend and I all went to Arlington Cemetery. It was Father's Day, so we saw a lot of balloons and flowers placed by children of the fallen soldiers. Talk about sobering and  being so thankful for their sacrifice.


Today was my last chance to squeeze in any DC spots that I still wanted to see and to hang out with Lyman, Katie and Allie. The only place that I was dying to go to was Georgetown Cupcakes. After waiting in a line for a bit, we tasted the famous sweet cupcakes. They were totally worth the wait.

After lunch and cupcakes we decided to walk the mall and see if anything was going on. I was excited, because I really wanted to run across the Capitol reflection pool like the scene in Forrest Gump when Jenny runs across it. I know, I'm ridiculous, but my mission was accomplished.

Haunted Firehouse, Girl Scouts, Ghost Stories and Poptarts

Thursday evening I was looking for something to get into for the weekend when Julie asked if I'd want to join her at a friend's book signing. When she told me it was about ghost hunting and the signing was in at a haunted fire house that had been turned into a bookstore/gallery shop, I was in.

Outside Firehouse Shop and Gallery

The shop is in Berryville, VA so it was a bit of a drive to get there. As we stepped out of the mini-van, we could hear some music playing that welcomed us into the shop full of artwork ranging from kindergarten crafts to professional masterpieces.

The book is called The Girls' Guide to Ghost Hunting by Stacey Graham. It's full of ghost stories and fun things to do at sleepovers. Her writing style is great and I've really enjoyed reading her blog that is written by a compilation of writers called An Army of Ermas. Check it out HERE.

Afterwards we went around the corner to a nearby park that had swings, slides and a band playing under a white gazebo. I instantly thought of Gilmore Girls and the town of Stars Hollow. Super cute and Mayberryesque.

During the week, a friend of mine and I planned to hang out at Eastern Market and check out the street vendors. It is such a neat and eclectic place. There was fruit, vegetables, jewelry, soap, sculptures, paintings and any kind of food you could've wanted

We went out for lunch afterwards to Ted's Bulletin. The waiter, with a full head of gray himself, asked me how old I was when I started turning gray. I sighed and muffled, "Thirteen." He cocked his head back and laughed saying, "I was 25!" Yeah, I'm not even that old yet.

Ted's is famous for their homemade poptarts, so of course we had to get some. If you ever go, I totally recommend the Brown Sugar and Cinnamon.

Strawberry, Blueberry and Brown Sugar & Cinnamon...mmmm

Checking out the Menu's Headlines

   

 I should also mention my encounter with 234,984 Girl Scouts. There was an event going on at the National Mall called "Girl Scouts Rock the Mall." They were EVERYWHERE! I had to park half a mile away from the metro and then felt uncool, because I didn't have a green vest with patches, pins and badges falling off of it. I was never good at the scouting thing anyways. 

Union Station

I've come to realize that the DC lifestyle is very different compared to the Kentucky lifestyle. I know that may sound like a dumb statement, because DC and Kentucky are so different in and of themselves, but I didn't realize this until I started to live it.

I have really loved riding the bus, metro and walking to the office. Normally I have a 25 minute drive from Wilmore to Lexington. My commute is much longer here, like over an hour longer, but I love it. Getting up at 6 isn't my favorite, but I'm learning to function at such an awful hour. 

Julie has to be at work earlier than I do, so I get up to ride to the bus stop and then the metro station with her. My metro stop is at Union Station. This is the go to place to shop in DC. It not only serves as a metro stop, but a bus station and has stores galore.

Once I'm off the train, I walk, okay I basically jog to Starbucks, because no one walks at a normal pace here. I get a tall cup of Pike Place and stroll/jog around the station. I mostly walk around Barnes and Noble, because I love looking at books. I made my first purchase yesterday of a GRE study book ... gross. 

Today I ventured out during lunch to check out Union Station a little bit more, since I had more time than I do in the mornings. Of course I went to Barnes and Noble and bought this magazine so I could at least be knowledgeable enough to know what is going on around town even if I'm not really a Washingtonian. I can pretend to be one, right?

I also found a great chocolatier, which will be the death of my waist line and my wallet, but it was SO good. 

I'll definitely be back there before I head home.

"I judge a woman by her sandwiches"

Yesterday, at lunch, I was chatting with my friends when I overheard one of them say, "I have to know how she makes her sandwiches first." I was instantly curious. I asked him what he meant by that and he said that he wants to see a girl make a sandwich before he decides to date her. According to him, you can tell a lot about a girl depending on how she makes her sandwich.

If the sandwich is neat and tidy, then she will be able to keep and maintain a neat and tidy household. If it's sloppy with mustard oozing from the sides and the sandwich is falling apart, then she's going to have a harder time maintaining a house. If it tastes good, then that's even better.

I just shook my head and decided to be more aware of how I make my sandwiches. Who knew guys judged sandwiches?