It's still a Winter Wonderland

Yesterday I talked with my Mom about possible activities I could do with the Young Women in my ward. One of her suggestions was a gardening activity because we're entering into the spring season. I wish I could use her idea, but I think it may be a few more months until we hit Spring here in Virginia.
Today's local weather report:

Light Snow and Windy

21°F
Feels Like
5°F

Updated: Mar 2 10:05 a.m. ET

Wind: From N at 22 mph gusting to 34 mph

Humidity: 76 %

And the view from our window this morning:

The Good, the Bad and More Good

The good news is that I do not weigh 300 pounds. Let me just start with that and as I go on, hopefully you will begin to understand.
Now for the bad news. Even though I am not coming in at 300 lbs., I am tipping the scales higher than ever before. Over the last year or so, I have gained some weight which I attribute to being married and having my very own kitchen all to myself, working out slightly less vigorously than before, and a few other things that I feel I have no control over.
Here comes the second piece of good news....
I have decided to get rid of my extra pounds and really do what it takes to get back to where I was, namely, back into my killer black wool trousers. Currently I can still button them and breathe, but I'm not so sure that anyone else would appreciate seeing me squeezed into them. For that reason, I have decided to take the plunge and for the next few weeks I will be working with a personal trainer to get me back into the gym scene and teach me some new exercises and techniques. I am excited and somewhat terrified all at the same time. The trainer I will be working with, Antonio, told me he wont kill me, but it'll be close. Gee, how comforting. Hopefully all the pain will translate into me in my black trousers again! Wish me luck!


In other GREAT news that I have previously failed to mention, Russ started a new job last week at Eagle Bank and I got a job which will begin March 9. Hooray!!
Russ was previously at Wachovia and that got a little interesting with all the bank issues that have circling for some time now. He started looking for some alternatives and was hired by Eagle Bank! It is a smaller regional bank that is doing quite well despite all the economic hardships of the times. They are based in Maryland with offices there and in D.C. and now Russ is heading up their Northern Virginia division. I am so proud of him! It is such an unstable time right now, but he managed to get himself a promotion!
As for my job, I will be working in Georgetown at a place called The Advisory Board. I'll be doing marketing for them and I'm looking forward to starting. I'll have to fill you all in a little more once I actually start.

An apple a day

Two days ago, I went to the doctor and had a pretty typical blood test. Not a lot of blood was drawn, just a quick in and out. After the blood test was over, I stood up and felt a little light-headed and dizzy. I thought I would walk it off - after all, I have never felt that way after having my blood drawn before. I made it all the way to the front of the office to schedule my next appointment, and the next thing I know, I'm on the ground with a a bunch of nervous nurses and doctors trying to help. That's right - I fainted in the doctor's office. Wow, that's not embarrassing at all. Especially because all the nurses were like, "Wow, we've never had someone faint from such a small blood sample before." Thanks. The doctor had me lie down and all the nurses were so nice. They brought me water, juice, and even pizza. All the other patients walking past my room were probably wondering why I was getting all the attention - and all the pizza! The doctor was worried about me driving home, so I ended up having to call Russ to come and get me. That was an interesting call. :-) The whole event was a little embarrassing, but otherwise, just fine.

My Apologies... My Christmas post is finally here

I really have nothing to say for myself in lieu of an excuse for my long and terrible absence from the blogging world. Have I been busy? Well, kind of. I suppose the idea of this blog just seemed a little daunting because there are so many things that I want to include. It's like when you have a really big journal entry you need to write, but you put it off because you know how long it will take.
Without further adieu, the big reveal...

Christmas and New Years in Barcelona and Italy!

After a long and frustrating dilemma, including an overnight stay, at the JFK airport - due to late flights and not running fast enough through the International terminal at the airport - Russ and I finally made it to Barcelona! I was so excited to see my family and just spend time hanging out and relaxing together. We watched a lot of movies, ate some wonderful food and spent a lot of time laughing. (Jonathon's alter-egos "Nigel" and "Linguine" were certainly big contributors to the amount of laughing Russ and I enjoyed while we were there!)

And now through pictures, while in Barcelona, we...

Went to church, as well as the Bario Dos Christmas Party. That was interesting, as always.

We went to the beautiful maze near our house. Jonathon beat us by a long shot.

We went to Montserrat and took family pictures in Barcelona bull t-shirts.

We took family pictures at the Roman gardens near our house. It should be noted that the photographs were taken using the self-timer on my Mom's digital camera and we set it up on a tripod that we made out of cardboard boxes and duct tape.

We went to a Barca game and we won! Russ said this was absolutely his favorite thing from the whole trip - it even beat out Italy. :-)


We went to the port for the arrival of the Three Kings.

And now, as if all that wasn't already enough, a few pictures from our trip to Italy. We went to Rome, Florence, Milan and Lake Como.

Church in Rome. Turns out my Mom's best friend has a son serving a mission in Rome and we happened to show up at the ward he is currently serving in. Then we saw him again on the metro!

Obviously, the Colosseum
Outside the Vatican

In front of the doors at the Duomo in Florence

View of Florence from the Bell Tower

My favorite place from the whole trip - the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.

Beautiful Lake Como

Festival of Lights

The Washington, D.C. Temple all lit up for the annual Festival of Lights.
I thought it was absolutely lovely.

The West Wing

A couple weeks ago my Uncle Jim called and asked if we would like to go to a tour of the White House. (He currently works for HHS and has the power to organize such things.) Of course, we said yes! We had a great time last night and it was especially fun to see the White House decorated for Christmas.

Outside the West Wing with the Presidential Seal above us.

Outside the West Wing

The Press Room was probably my favorite part of the tour. Each of the chairs in the Press Room is labeled with a plaque, designating which paper, magazine or radio station the reporter is from.

Inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where the majority of the White House staff works.

Where I would love to be if I ever got the chance to work at the White House.

The National Christmas Tree!

A Few of My Favorite Christmas Things

Christmas is one of my favorite things. It just so happens that my family and the Gospel are two more of my favorite things and everything seems to be all packaged nicely together during the Christmas season.
I have been getting very excited for our trip to Barcelona for Christmas this year with my family. This is normally an exciting trip all on it's own (because it is in fact Barcelona and my family is actually living there).
This Christmas is made all the more exciting because #1, I get to see my Dad. I always get to see my Dad at Christmas, but normally I get to see him at a few other times during the year as well. This past year I saw my parents in early April, but my Dad wasn't able to come to our wedding, so it has been almost 8 months since I have been with him. That's the longest span of time we haven't been able to see each other and I'll be honest, I haven't much liked it. I am looking forward to seeing Mom and the boys as well, of course! It's been a little over 6 months since we were able to spend some time together at the wedding. And as for Rebecca, well, it will great to see her too, though I did recently spend a week in Provo.
The #2 reason for the heightened Christmas excitement is that Russ and I are also going to Italy! Hooray! Russ has been twice, but I've never been so I convinced him to take me. We'll be spending a week with my family in Barcelona, then a week in Italy and then back to Barcelona for three more days before we head back to real life. The heading back part is tragic, but necessary if we plan on doing any fun traveling ever again. :-)
Last but not least, the #3 reason for extra Christmas cheer is that Russ and I still have a little bit of money left over from our wedding to spend at Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn for fun holiday things.
Yesterday, Russ and I went to the Outlets for the remaining gift items on our Christmas list and I got a little Christmas present for myself at Williams-Sonoma. They are little appetizer/dessert/whatever plates that have different little snowmen on them. I think they are adorable and I plan on using them for whatever I can from now until we leave and for every Christmas from here on out.

Here's a picture of one of the plates. (There are 4 different designs.)

I hope you are all enjoying some of your very own favorite Christmas things!