Special Guests of the President....of the United States!!

I know you're all doubting after reading the title to this post, but it's TRUE! Me and 3 friends were special guests of the President of the United States of AMERICA at the Kennedy Center last week! We saw the National Symphony Orchestra with the Army Jazz Ambassadors from George W. Bush's Presidential Box. It was so much fun! I hadn't made it over to the Kennedy Center yet since I've lived out here, but I always look at it as I drive across Memorial bridge. It's so beautiful sitting along the water front on the edge of Georgetown.

Shout out to John F. K....This is Mike and Callie getting stoked for the concert. Mike is the one that invited us. He works at the White House and was lucky enough to get tickets for the
Friday show :)

Hall of Nations

Us in our dresses in the President's suite. Notice the official seal on the wall. The tickets came with a special invitation from the President and it had a code to the refrigerator in the suite that was packed with all sorts of treats and drinks all in cute boxes that said The White House on them and had George W's signature. I proudly snacked on the presidential m&m's but declined to partake of the White House champagne.

The suite had tons of pictures of the President at the Kennedy Center with other celebrities like Steve Martin, I think...and others. There were 12 seats in the box. They were absolutely the best in the house. Tony Fratto and his family were there too....(if you don't know who that is, I didn't either and Callie had to tell me...) he is deputy spokesman for the White House...kind of an important guy apparently. And he was really nice too...so, bonus.The concert was so fantastic!! I love Jazz music! My favorite songs they played were The Duke and then the finale which was Sing Sing Sing....I love that song! It really was such a neat experience! Well worth skipping a day of studying for finals....thanks Mike!

Thank yous

Thank you to those who supported my petition for change.

Thank you to Melanie for putting up really cute pictures of my niece on her blog. Keep them coming.

And thank you to Melanie for changing my blog background randomly w/o telling me....I like it...good to keep up with the changing seasons. Thanks Mel :) I love that you just did it. Haha.

Petition for Change

I'm starting a petition on my blog to get Melanie to add new pictures of Grace to her blog...in case you weren't aware, there have not been any new pictures of Gracie since November 6, 2008. I am in finals studying mode now since my finals start one week from today, yet how am I supposed to get through my ridiculously awful and boring days of studying if I do not have new pictures of my cute niece to look at? Yeah,...I don't know either.

You can indicate your support of this petition by leaving a comment :)

Together we can fight for change...yes we can.

To avoid studying...

It's that time of year, when I have to devote literally ALL of my time to studying for 4 exams....but seriously I cannot make myself focus on anything. I dread it so much...and find any excuse I can to put it off...like blog posting :)

It is officially FREEZING in Washington....Wow. I complain about it at school and my friends shake their heads in disbelief saying: "Okay, Utah." --Don't like being called Utah...but I have never been able to handle the cold weather...its the WIND that kills me. I'm seriously thinking I need to live in a place where it doesn't get below 50 degrees....I'll take suggestions.

On Thursday, I went to hear Senator Orrin Hatch talk to a group of LDS students about "How [his] Faith has Influenced [his] Personal Service." It was fun to hear his stories. He's a very articulate man...very smart. And it's almost endearing how much he loves to brag about himself...like he's been talking like that for years, that he doesn't realize what he's saying. But he's a sweet man and has put in so many years of service to our nation. I went up and shook his hand afterwards. I told him that I thought he knew my grandparents, Ralph & Pat Romney (since when he lived in Utah, they were next door neighbors). His eyes lit up and he went on to tell me how wonderful my grandparents were and then asked me if he could give me a hug :) It was cute.

I feel like everywhere I go lately, I'm being asked to give money to someone or something. Seriously, I counted the other day, and I was directly stopped and asked 5 times! Whether it's homeless people on the street that come up to you, people at school with this fundraiser or that one, or volunteers for some organization cornering people as they wait for the light to change at crosswalks. Seriously. I wish I had money to give all of these people...and everytime I pass a homeless person, my heart seriously aches and I think about what I could possibly do to help people like this in a positive, lasting way...I don't know... I always find myself wishing I carried an extra sandwich around with me. The Savior teaches that we should care for one another... especially the poor and hungry...but then you hear awful stories about people getting hurt or being in danger because they went too far to help someone (like how Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped by a man her mother had helped by giving him some work to do at her home)...and then you wonder if you give money, if it will be used for food or drugs & alcohol...but should that matter to me when I think of giving? I don't know. I donate money through fast offerings...I love that program because I know it will be spent well...in ways that really help people to improve their lives and lift them permanently out of the situations they are in. We can't try to permanently solve this problem by continually coming up with temporary solutions. And I certainly don't have a practical one to offer. But I feel so awful when I say no to these people who ask me for money...and with it happening like 5 times a day now...I feel even worse about it. Maybe that's the point.

Go Jazz!!

The Jazz were in town this week playing the Wizards so we got tickets to the game... unfortunately they lost. But I was really excited to get to see Deron Williams play despite the fact that he was really only like 80% still from his injury. Watching games at the Verizon Center is not as fun as Energy Solutions Arena in SLC because it was much emptier and not as loud. But it was still really fun to go! Callie and I went to Vapianos for dinner before the game...LOVE that place. Such a fun atmosphere, excellent food, and good price! All in all...it was an great break from finals!

City that Never Sleeps

I went to NYC last weekend and stayed with some friends. It was so much fun! I love hanging out with new yorkers who know about all the cool things do and places to go. Friday night we ate some fantastic Japanese food in the East Village followed by nutella & raspberry sauce filled crepes near Houston Street. There are so many amazing restaurants in the East Village...that is my favorite area of town to walk through at night in nyc...so fun! Saturday, we went to South Street Seaport and walked down Wall Street (in a crazy windstorm!!) and then went grabbed dessert at Serendipity, and then went to see Spamalot on Broadway! While I was there, we also ate at a really good pizzeria in the Upper West side and got cupcakes (pumpkin with the most amazing cream cheese frosting) and banana pudding at the famous Magnolia Bakery. We grabbed our desserts and walked down the street and ate them in front of the Manhattan temple. I had such a great time!

Here I am at Serendipity. For those of you who don't love chick flicks, this ice cream parlor / restaurant is super famous and can be found in many cute movies set in nyc. One Fine Day, Serendipity, etc.... If you can believe it, the wait for a table for 4 here at 3pm on a Saturday was 2 hours!! (We put our name in and then came back later). Their signature item is Frozen Hot Chocolate...which is like a milk shake but thinner...and comes in a big sundae dish...so good....we got one of those with a little peanut butter flavor in it. And then we also got two other sundaes and shared the dishes. Delicious! And pricey...yes, the sundaes were $15 a piece!

Carly, Nick, and Chateau....under the Queensboro bridge on Roosevelt Island.


We took the tram from midtown Manhattan to Roosevelt Island (which is just east of midtown). It's a commuter tram so it was only $2 to ride. And it was so amazing! I loved it. It was like we were flying though the buildings and then across the river. And it had just gotten dark, so the lights were starting to come on in the buildings...I love the nyc skyline....this was so fun!! We just rode there and back....$4.

Strolled down Wall Street....stopped here in front of the New York Stock Exchange for a picture. You could feel the depression in the air.... ;)

We went to see a Broadway Show!! Monty Python's Spamalot. It was really amazing! So funny, very similar to the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail but with music. They added a part for the "lady of the lake" - she had an INCREDIBLE voice! I loved all of her songs!! So spectacular and fun to be at a show on Broadway. Oh and Clay Aiken was one of the knights in show...he's odd.

Start Spreading the News...I'm leaving today...gonna be a part of it...in old New York!

This is a mobile blog post....I am currently sitting on the Chinatown bus on my way to NYC! Great deal! You get a round trip ticket from DC for $35. The ride is about 4 and 1/2 hours and they have free wireless internet the whole way. I always have intentions of using it to study...but rarely get much done. I'm easily distracted. But I'm nearing Manhattan and just got a glimpse of all those tall buildings cramped on that tiny island! I seriously love it! It's such an exciting place! There is so much going on! I've always loved cities ever since I was a little girl. My parents tell me I would just gawk at all the buildings in downtown SLC....so you can imagine how much worse the gawking is in NYC. This is my 3rd visit to NYC (2nd this fall!) and I think I will finally make it to a Broadway Show this time! Super excited! Ah, I just love the nyc skyline!

I Love GW

It's so awesome going to school at George Washington because of stuff like this:

A few weeks ago I got to attend a roundtable discussion with 5 former Secretaries of State! Henry Kissinger, James Baker, Warren Christopher, Madelaine Albright, and Colin Powell were there. It was moderated by Christiane Amanpour and Frank Sesno and was taped to be aired on CNN. The topic was the foreign policy challenges that the next president will face. They went through each region of the world and discussed what is currently going on and what should be done. Obama and McCain have referenced the comments made during this discussion multiple times as they've been debating and campaigning. It was seriously so cool to be there!

And then on Thursday this week, I went to another panel discussion at the law school. This one was on the current financial crisis: how it happened and what we should do. There were 4 panelist...all had been or currently were senior partners at major law firms (like Skadden)...2 were or had been general counsel to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), one was general counsel to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), and another was general counsel to ETrade Bank. It was really cool to be there! Some of the investment banking terms they were throwing around were a little over my head...so I didn't understand as much as I would have liked to...but, I just love learning about all that stuff...it's so interesting!

"Practicing" Attorney

As in practicing [being an] attorney. This week was pretty big for me....I accepted an offer to work at Kirton & McConkie in Salt Lake City next summer! I'm really happy because I think it's a perfect fit for me! I can't believe I'm almost half-way done with law school. Time is flying by!

DC and NYC touristy weekend

Nationals Game! They played the Mets so we got to see Santana pitch. I seriously love the new stadium! I wish I had gone to more games this summer!

Lincoln Memorial....definitely a favorite. I love reading the speeches on the inside and it really has the the best view of the mall with the capital and washington monument reflecting in the water.

Tour of the Capital. I made Spencer do so many touristy things...he was a good sport.

Kid in a candy store... :)

Korean War Memorial...very cool.
Love the WWII...especially at night.
Let's give a little shout out to Oregon State for their incredible performance Thursday defeating the #1 ranked Trogans of USC. Go beavers!

Arlington National Cemetary. I love coming here...it's so peaceful. We saw Dave Chappelle as we were leaving the tomb of the unknown soldier...he walked right by us.

New York City. Central Park! Love it!! Seriously if I lived in the city I would come to Central Park as often as I could.
The boat house in Central Park...how many cute romantic movies have scenes at this place?
We bought a nutella - filled crepe and ate it here at this fountain...again...so many movies have scenes at this fountain...it was beautiful! I loved the lily pads.

We wanted to go to a Yankees game since this was the last weekend that this historic stadium will be used by the team...unfortunately tickets were outrageously expensive....but we went up there anyways and looked around.

This was so awesome! The wall is across the street from Yankee Stadium.
Top of the Empire State Building! It was so unbelievably gorgeous up there!! Probably my favorite part of our little 24 hr trip to NYC! I could have stayed up there for hours...if it hadn't been so cold at the top, we probably would have.
Midtown Manhattan from the top of the Empire State Building.

Annapolis

Callie and I went to Annapolis a couple weeks ago! It was such a cute little town. We walked through a bit of the Navy campus and strolled along the main drags of town. We got there a bit late in the day, however, so the Navy visitors center/museum was closed which was sad. I loved all the sail boats in the water though! I wish my mom could have seen them because

she would love it!

We saw some good looking Navy boys...Love the men in uniform...we tried to ignore the fact that they are all pretty much 5 years younger than us.

Penn State Nittany Lions

Yesterday, I drove up to State College, Pennsylvania to visit my cousin Peter and his wife, Carrie. We went to a football game at Beaver Stadium which is seriously huge!! I think it seats about 110,000 fans! Either Penn State or Michigan has the largest stadium in the country. And it was basically filled to capacity...108,270. The endzone seats go up at a pretty steep incline...so even at the top, you have a great view of the game! They played Oregon State and killed them...so the game wasn't too exciting, but it was so much fun to be there! After the game, they made me the best dinner...homemade pesto (which is my absolute favorite) on bowtie pasta with salad and then homemade apple pie with homemade vanilla ice cream for dessert! Wow! Loved it! I just had such a blast hangin out with Peter and Carrie! They are seriously so much fun!

Dancing in the moonlight

At Bear Lake before I left to come back to Washington...see the full moon in the background.

Waiting for Jack Johnson!...Spencer's getting impatient...

Speak softly and carry a big stick...

View of the Potomac from the Key Bridge in Georgetown.

Today, I read in the Washington Post Express that today marks 107 years since Teddy Roosevelt gave his speech in which he said to "Speak softly and carry a big stick"....what a coincidence since just this weekend I went to Roosevelt Island for the first time (twice). I went once on Saturday to do a little trail running and then again on Monday night with Callie...we went for a walk along the Mount Vernon Trail, near the island and up over the Key Bridge into Georgetown.


Me leaving the island after a little trail running.

Some kayakers in the Potomac near Roosevelt Island.

The monument to Teddy Roosevelt.

Cool tree I came across on the island...all hollowed out.

What the?!!!

So I have never in the past year seen a single bug in my apartment...and then out of no where...this guy pops up!!!!!! With all of his 30 legs!!!! Sick!!!! After capturing a few photos, my shoe killed it.

Cowgirls

Giddy-up! Gracie loved wearing her cowgirl hat :) She's ready to bull-ride!

My new most favorite thing ever!

WAKE SURFING!

No bindings...just you, the board, and the wake. I never through the rope in but felt like I could have and continued to ride for bit. The people I was with were super good and could toss the rope in and ride the wake for like 3 minutes. I love wake surfing because it's so easy and fun and you're close to the boat (like 10 feet) and all your friends, you can joke around and listen to the music blasting from the speakers...so it's social and incredibly fun at the same time :) And how cool is it to throw the rope in and continue riding??!

(Bear Lake Trip with the Singles Ward August 2008)

Great Falls, Virginia

On Friday, I went with some friends (Peter, Callie, and Kyle) up to Great Falls National Park in Virginia. I've been wanting to go there since I moved out here last year! It's so beautiful! I'm sure it's even better when the water level is higher. There is a little path way with different overlooks where you can see the falls. We saw some kayakers going down, it was so neat! I just wanted to jump in the water and tube down...it looked so much fun!