myretroperspective

looking up Pennsylvania Ave. towards the Capitol building After a very long last day of con-gen for me, R made good on his promise to take me to see the White House Christmas Tree. We had planend to go a couple other times, but bailed at the last minute. I was exhausted but it was well worth the trip just to say good bye to DC on our last night. just a building we passed on our way to the White House  The whole city is aglow with Christmas cheer. R could hardly make it half a block without me saying- oooooo pretty, let's take a picture of that hotel or building. It definitely made up for not being able to decorate our own home for Christmas. Eisenhower Executive building next to the White House It flurried a tiny bit as we walked and I felt like it was a display of God's mercy that DC's November and December have been relatively mild just before we head to Shenyang. North side of the White House We finished the night by getting pizza at our favorite spot in town- District o...

We are down to our last week in DC and it finally hit me last night over dinner with one of my favorite women how sad I am to leave! Even though we've been here only a little over 3 months, there are things I will truly miss about our life here. This caught me a little off guard because I have been really excited about our move and so much about our time here has felt transitory. It's a bit different from how I miss Atlanta. Atlanta contributed to who we are as a couple. It's where we learned what being married meant for us. We had well worn paths in the community and seasonal routine that shaped our lives year after year. We established a home, and welcomed others into it when they were new or passing through. We've never quite fallen into a rhythm here in DC, and our apartment has not felt like home (although it's been just what we needed). Honestly, though we have a few usual haunts, we've spent our time in the city more as tourists rather than residents. Wha...

Well as you may have heard it's election day.  I'm expecting less people to read this post than any other post because social media is FLOODED with everyone's personal accounts of their voting experience.  I'm not sure if it's because I was out of the country living in a dorm in a remote part of Asia last election season, the fact that we're living in such a politically charged area, or just the uptick in social media in the last 4 years, but I am sooooo over it.  So you will not find my account of voting here.  I'm not even going to tell you whether I voted, let alone who for.   The increased focus on politics that happens every 4 years seems to be just another platform for people to feel good about themselves and tell everyone about it. I voted! I voted for so & so! I voted against such & such! I'm so informed! I'm so progressive! I'm so conservative! Look at me!  It did my heart well to advise a friend yesterday who was stressing about...

Thanks to a CrAzY weather system we are celebrating halloween early with FRANKENSTORM! It will take more than a hurricane to scare this Floridian.  The good news is R has the day off and if we can keep power that will make for a nice relaxing holiday at home. So we're hunkered down with the bath tub filled and the freezer full of ice, just in case... The storm is a bit of a bummer since my seester arrived Saturday afternoon to help celebrate my birthday.  Thankfully the storm held off for a nice day with her & R yesterday.  We headed out to brunch over near the White House at Founding Farmers .  The wait for a table was just long enough for us to dash over and snap a picture.  The mimosas & french toast were yummy but the service was slow.  Because we weren't sure about the weather, we felt like we should head back home after brunch.  We'd already heard that the NYC subway was shutting down in the evening & we weren't sure what the DC metro...

Mama C visits under fall leaves on the National Mall  This past weekend with our parents in town was SO much fun.  It conjured a few different memories for me: 1- Spring Break 1996- family visit to DC.  I was in 8th grade and it was one of only a handful of real family vacations I remember taking. I was still a pre-teen so I remember this trip as actually really fun (my teenage years were not my finest).  This time was different in that A-we missed having seester there tremendously and B-it was me dragging my parents around and not the other way around. 2- Spring 2010 Mom & B visit me and R, who are newly-engaged, in Asia.  Thankfully this trip did not involve my water going out for 2 days or anyone getting sick.  I can honestly say the pandas were better in Asia (biggest let down of this weekend was the National Zoo).  We still enjoyed the same fun of showing my parents around with R.  We love playing the host & sharing what little "local...

Since we got the news on Friday about where we're headed next life has not slowed.  If anything things are picking up speed quickly!  R's brother was in town for the ceremony & to just hang in DC and we were so blessed by time with him.  He is the kind of guest you love to have: he does the dishes after a meal, he's happy to sit and do next to nothing on a Saturday, but he's willing to tromp around museums & botanical gardens on Sunday before heading to church. We started the day at Eastern Market grabbing delicious Cuban sandwiches & empanadas.  Loved walking around such a cute part of the city- wish I had taken more pictures, but I couldn't resist the flowers! Then we leisurely strolled towards the National Mall and checked in at the botanical gardens.  I was spoiled in Atlanta and a bit disappointed in the National Tropical Botanical Gardens but we made it a quick stop anyways. Just a lovely October day near the capitol A highlight of the day was ...

To distract ourselves from impending flag day we decided to get out and be tourists this weekend.  I've also neglected to post pictures from a previous jaunt of ours around the monuments after dark so I thought I'd take the opportunity to post while we bide our time. side note: We have absolutely turned a corner to being anxious about flag day.  I had my first flag day dream Sunday night in which R didn't show up and I drew our placement out of a bowl on a slip of paper.  I thought I surreptitiously pulled China out, but ended up with a slip that had the name of a post I'd NEVER heard of.  Borderline nightmare so that's fun... Anyways, before I fell ill 2 weeks ago I convinced R to head into the District to walk around the monuments at night.  A good friend who I consider practically a DC native gave us this tip, and I don't think I'd want to visit during the daytime again.  It was perfect weather & the crowds were MUCH smaller than daytime.  Not t...