A 40-day desert of blogging

It seems like every time I post, I start out by apologizing for being a slacker at the blog. I'd like to be able to say that I gave up blogging for Lent but this Baptist girl doesn't do that tradition. My lack of blogging almost makes me want to just quit. I'm fairly certain my mom and the two other readers would understand. But I don't quit that easily and besides, I don't want to have this 40-day hole where I can't remember a thing of the happenings in my life.

Lots has happened, yet nothing considered breaking news, if you know what I mean. So I thought I would share a "Top Ten Moments of the Last 40 Days".

We traveled quite a bit in the past 40 days- some for work and some for pleasure. Brian and I went to Chicago about a month ago. He was there for a business trip and I had previously arranged to meet him at the end of his conference for a couple of days of sightseeing. Well lo and behold, POTUS announced he was going to be there too, so all of a sudden my mini-vacation turned into a work trip for me too! We still did get to see a bunch of stuff while we were there and just had a blast. I didn't end up taking a picture of POTUS's event because I was stuck behind a riser of cameras and couldn't see squat.

1. While in Chicago, we decided to go up in the Sears Tower. Technically, it's now called the Willis Tower but I'm just not convinced the new name will ever stick. The new name is not the only thing that has changed there. Since I had been there, they have added a new "Skyledge" up there where you can walk out onto a glass box sticking out of the 103rd floor. I'm not technically afraid of heights but this experience freaked me out quite a bit. I had to get my engineer-boyfriend to assure me that it was okay and he wasn't so sure about it either!!
2. Brian and I actually did get to see quite a few things in Chicago that we could get in around our grueling work schedules. One thing I had told him about was The Bean in downtown Chicago. Back in 2008, I spent many cold, cold, cold days doing liveshots nearby after Barry was elected POTUS and it was one of the highlights of being there. Maybe it's just me, but it's just cool. It was even cool when it was ten below zero outside. And it was much, much nicer this time around when it was 55 degrees! I'm pretty sure that the Bean probably has a real name but to me that's what it will always be. I just love the way it reflects the city skyline!!!

3. We took a little detour during our time in the Windy City to drive up to Milwaukee to see some friends of Brian. I think I might have been there before but then again, there's no telling. I've been doing this job so long that I sometimes forget what cities I've been to. I know I've been to Wisconsin somewhere (this was Brian's first trip) and I really thought it had been Milwaukee but it didn't see that familiar to me. So I guess I can officially cross it off my list. We met up for dinner with one of Brian's friends from grad school and had a lovely time driving around the city. Of course, the highlight was a quick stop by the Fonz statue. I guess I should really know more about why it's there but I'm guessing it's because Happy Days took place there? Anyway, The Fonz was much shorter in bronze than I expected!
4. Of course, one of the main highlights of the past 40 days was celebrating Easter. We spent the weekend before visiting with Brian's family in Pennsylvania but I really wanted to be at my church on Easter morning. I just love being there. It actually makes me tear up just thinking about the excitement and joy and just worshipping the risen Savior! Of course, here is my annual picture by the cross but Brian is included this year! :) 5. After Easter, I took the whole next week off and went to Roanoke to hang with my family. Katherine and Nolan were in from St. Louis and I thought a relaxing way to spend a week off would be to dote on my sweet nieces and nephews. Well the doting part was fun. The relaxing part didn't really exist. I just love my family though. They are the best. It was so fun to play with Cayton, Raygan, and Nolan. Brian dropped me off in Roanoke and then came back for me on Thursday (we went back to Alexandria on Sunday). I think that was a smart move on his part. I'm not sure if he could have handled an entire week of that craziness. My nieces and nephew (and the rest of the family) just love Brian and I think he survived the madness without too many scars! While in Roanoke, I did get to see pretty much my entire family (the Casolas, my older niece Chandler, and even my aunt!) and it was just a great way to spend some time off.

6. I'd be remiss if I didn't share another highlight from my time in Roanoke which would be the photo session. My sisters decided to have the kids' pictures taken together professionally since they don't get to be around each other all that often. My dad and I decided to go and help. And it really did take three adults and a 7 year old to even try to get the little ones to cooperate. Poor Cayton was such a trooper. It was worse than herding cats, which I've never done before but can only imagine. I think eventually we got them all to sort of smile in the same picture. It's a good thing that they are incredibly cute because it was a rather exhausting experience. Lunch at Chick-fil-a sort of helped but I'm not sure we'll be invited back to the portrait studio any time in the near future.

7. One last mention of my time in Roanoke and that was cooking for my family. Brian and I cooked together for them but I went solo one night and made a pot roast and my (technically not-so) famous vanilla mousse cheesecake. I'm so proud of myself for this- considering a year ago, I was just delving into the world of cooking! I made a recipe I learned from my church's Bible study called Apples of Gold (it was the first thing I cooked for Brian when we first started dating) and it was a hit! And the cheesecake I had made once before for dinner with friends but thought my family would like it to.
8. Well the week of vacation came and went too fast. I ended up skipping this year's White House Correspondents Dinner with POTUS. I figured he probably wouldn't notice if I wasn't there. I was just having too good a time with my family and didn't want to leave them. I've been to that dinner sooo many times (I realize that sounds pretty jaded) and this year I picked my family over the 3000 other dinner guests. I didn't even know who the stars were who attended so I don't regret my decision. I was going to watch it all on Monday when I got back to work but of course, the night before my first day back from vacation, Osama bin Laden was killed. Talk about having to jump right back into the ring of fire! I had to be at work at 4a that Monday after going to sleep at about 12:30a!! On my way into work, I drove right past the side of the Pentagon that had been hit and just paused to think about what a historic moment that was. And then when I arrived at the White House, I could still hear people singing the Star Spangled Banner and they were waving American flags. It was quite patriotic and moving. Of course, about ten minutes later, I realized that the only people that remained outside the gates of the White House at that hour were college kids who were drunk and/or stoned. I'm not quite sure if they knew what they were being patriotic about. But at least they remembered the words of the national anthem.

9. On that same day, I got to go to another Medal of Honor ceremony. As I've pointed out before, I really love this ceremony and it's my favorite. This time it was for two Korean War soldiers and their bravery. Honestly, I don't remember much of their stories because it was quite busy with lots of things going on because of OBL but it was still moving and patriotic nonetheless. And this time, no one in the crowd was drunk and/or stoned. At least I don't think so.

10. Since I've been back to work, honestly I can't tell you exactly what's been going on. It's been somewhat of a blur. Just a bunch of Marine One departures/arrivals. He's been on the road but I've been getting ready for my big trip to Europe in a couple of days. Lots of logistics going on here and since I'll be gone for a week, other people are traveling with POTUS. It's all good. I feel like I haven't been at home much anyway!!