The Saturday Morning Post

This morning, I'm visiting with an old friend. Saturday morning.
It's been a while since I've been here, blogging in the morning light, hearing the hum of the air conditioning, and the taps of zippers and buttons tossing in the dryer.

I don't think I've had a chance to do this all Summer. And my white chair, is now blue, by the way. (Part of our June home improvements) Although, a certain Puggle has been laying on it all week, so the new blue slipcover will be going in the wash today, so it will probably be white again later. Sorry. Rabbit trail.

What a wonderful week it has been!
After almost two months of traveling, we were back at church last Sunday, and it was like being home.

Sunday afternoon, we packed a picnic dinner and headed into DC to watch the rehearsal for A Capitol Fourth, a concert put on the West Front of the Capitol by PBS. I was so ready to see Josh Groban, but...
The National Mall was cleared out because of the impending doom. And the concert was cancelled to the public! We sought shelter in the Air and Space Museum, where we didn't learn anything about air and space, but we at at the McDonald's inside!

Then, we caught up with some dear friends of Michael's who were in DC for vacation. (gotta love Facebook!) Jim and Kim Gates.
Michael really looks up to Jim, so it was a great time of catching up, and encouragement. We loved being around them. So much laughter and joy!
M went on a beer tour and I endured the serious torture of avoiding the amazing crossiant rolls at HOPS.
So, no concert, but we had a fabulous Sunday evening anyway!

Monday was July 4th, so I was off of work, and we decided to honor our nation's independence by doing the most American thing of all time.
Going to a baseball game!
The Nats played the Cubs, and it was a sunny, sold out game. It was close, and went to a 10th inning. We were sitting close to "that guy" at the game. You know the one. The guy who's yelling and starting cheers, all by himself. He seems kind of drunk, but not really. At first, he kind of gets on your nerves, then somewhere around the 7th inning, you find yourself clapping and cheering along, and actually kind of glad "that guy" and his team spirit are there?
"That guy" is in the background with his green "rally cap" on. You can see the effects on my dear husband here. Well, it worked! The Nats pulled off a win off of a wild pitch, and a stolen base, in the bottom of the 10th.
After the game, we went to Danny and Nassika's for some really great mini-burgers, hot dogs and lots of other good food. It was a great time. And, actually, Nassika gave me this nice candle that is burning right now, as I write this blog!
Yay.
Let's see... what else happened this week... standby for more photos....
OH YES! The coffeemaker saga! If you're my friend on Facebook, this is old news, but...
Last week, when I got back from Iowa, my coffeemaker was broken. So, I went across the street to Target, and spent $9.24 on a cheap replacement to get us through until I could find a good deal on a real replacement.
Then, my good, beautiful stainless steel, Cuisinart Grind and Brew started working again.
Then, it stopped again. So, I was glad I had the cheap backup.
THEN... my backup failed me!!!
So, one day this week, at 4:00am, I was in the McDonalds Drive-Thru buying two large coffees.
Ick.
The next day, I had a better solution.
Luckily, this lasted us until this shiny new savior came yesterday while we were out.
The filter is currently soaking, and it will be fully operational soon! I got a great deal on a refurbished coffeemaker on Overstock.com! yay! And it has a thermal carafe. And, the parts from my old coffeemaker fit, so we can use those as backups. I'm going to see if I have my Target receipt from that cheap coffeemaker, but I probably don't. Oh well.

This week was very much "back to normal."
You know... catching up on a million emails...
And doing conference calls from Starbucks....
I mean, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!
We grilled out... I love Summer nights outside.
One night this week, I cooked steaks in a pan, which at first, I felt like I was breaking some sacred rules, but when I realized it was ready in like 10 minutes on a weeknight, I no longer cared. I overcooked it a little, though.
I started watching what I'm eating and trying to exercise more. Again. Because this weight I've gained over the last year has really got to go. I have decided. I'm tracking my calories, etc. on www.myfitnesspal.com. In my first week, I lost 3.2 lbs and one inch off my waist and my hips. I'll take it.
One day I wore M's sunglasses because I left mine at home. That was kind of funny.
I spent a day working at the White House, and I was reminded of how cool it is that I get paid to do this stuff.
I watched the President send the first live presidential tweet from the East Room.
I stood there, for 2 hours for that White House Twitter Town Hall, in heels. Big mistake. My back still hurts. :(

Michael and I marked our 22nd monthaversary. It's so cute how he remembers it on the 6th of every month. This month, I got a new tube of my favorite lip gloss. (which he also happens to love the taste of, haha!) And, some new massage lotion from Bath and Body Works, and an amazing massage from my live in masseuse to go with it.

Yesterday, Michael rode into work with me, and spent the day at the Bureau so we could go to a dinner at the National Press Club we were invited to, and we had a blast at that.

Today, I'm cleaning this apartment because the dirt in the corners is DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!
But first, I'm going to make some coffee.

I hope y'all are all doing well. Enjoy your days. Especially Summer days. I love this season, there is something to enjoy each day.