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!

A Thanksgiving Turkey Trot

This year I joined Russ' family in running the annual 5k Virginia Run Turkey Trot. They have been participating in the Turkey Trot for the last 6-7 years and as the newest member of the Marsh family, I participated in my inaugural run. Now, I say run, but technically it was really more of a saunter. You see, I hate running. I love nice walks and enjoy being outside, but make me run for 200 yards (which my cousin Jessica did at the very end) and I'm ready to quit. Luckily, Jessica told me to suck it up for those last 200 yards and even though we were coming in a little later than most "runners", we had people on the sidelines cheering us in as we crossed the finish line. I'll save myself the embarrassment of telling you our time, but let's just say I pretty much only have room to improve. :-) Nevertheless, I did complete the race and I'm proud of myself for doing it.
I will send a shout out to my cousin Stephen for finishing the 5k in 21:38. He's 16 and he's not even a runner! Good work Stephen!
I'm excited to run the Turkey Trot again next year and hopefully improve my time a bit. :-)

Russ and I after the race

The whole gang: Stephen, me, Russ, Shawnee, Emily, Kirk, Tiffany and Jessica

I will say that participating in the Turkey Trot made me feel much better about all the eating I did later in the day. And let me tell you, we had quite the spread. My assignments included an appetizer (homemade pepper jelly over cream cheese with crackers) and sweet potatoes. Both dishes went over very well and I would like to give credit to my mother for the recipes and for teaching me how to cook in general. Thanks Mom!

The pepper jelly. Yum!

$1.95

$1.95 doesn't get you as much now as it used to, but it is still enough for a lot of small purchases. With $1.95 you can buy a carton of eggs, two packs of gum, or an ice cream cone from RiteAid. You know what else you can get for $1.95? One whole gallon of gas! That's right folks. Tonight I paid $1.95 per gallon for a grand total of just under $30 to fill up my entire tank. About three months ago I think I was paying over $4 a gallon. Not anymore! All I've got to say is this better not be a trick.

The last few days...

...I have been down with a nasty sinus infection. As a result, I just haven't been feeling well and I've been fairly opposed to going outside, seeing as it is now winter in Virginia. Yesterday there were snow flurries.
Russ has apparently seen these last few days as an opportunity to win my heart all over again (as if he'd ever lost it!). Among the many wonderful things he always does, he also:
- called the doctor to make an appointment for me
- made me dinner
- did all the laundry and folded it
- picked up my antibiotic prescription
- drew me a bath
- gave me a back and foot massage
- went to the Silver Diner and picked up a Chunky Monkey for me
(For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of a Chunky Monkey, it is the ultimate shake. It has vanilla ice cream, chocolate chips, oreos, bananas and fudge sauce. Amazing.)
In conclusion, I have a wonderful husband and I truly appreciate all the sweet things he has been doing for me while I have been under the weather.
Thanks, sweetheart!

Celebrating 20 Years of Sisters

20 years ago today, I became a sister. I also became a fighter, a hitter, a sharer, a talker, a listener and a best friend. See, the way sisters work, you don't get the best friend part without the fighter part. That's the thing about sisters. You can want to ring her neck and then want to call her ten minutes later with the best news - the kind of news that is only as exciting to a sister as it is to you.

I found a quote once that describes exactly how I feel about being a sister.
"What's the good of news, if you haven't a sister to share it?" - Jenny DeVries

As I thought about being a sister, I came up with some things that seem that embody what a sister is, at least for me.

1. A sister is the person you call when you can't call anyone else.
2. A sister is the person you fight with the most, because they know you the best and they know how to hit where it hurts.
3. A sister is the person you forgive faster than anyone, because it's no fun to be mad at your best friend.

Indulge me now, as I share some of my favorite moments from being a sister in the last few years.

The sketchy hotel in Murcia (or was it Elche?)

Giverny, Paris, France

The sister trip

Christmas in Barcelona

She was the first one I went to after Russ and I came out of the temple.

The very best thing about sisters is that even though 20 years is really amazing, forever is better.
Happy Birthday, Becca! I love you!