Lately.

Someone (Shannon!), has been on my case about my lack of updates lately, so I figured I would take a rainy Sunday morning to catch up.  I’ve been busy (and in love), so what can I say?!

Here is the latest…in pictures.

Shannon made a surprise trip to VA for Thanksgiving and I got to see her for a quick lunch. Yay!

Got tickets in the box to see the BB&T classic @ Verizon center. The game of the night was Maryland v Villanova and it was awesome. Love college basketball, no matter what the team!

Chris & me @ the Maryland/Villanova game.

Tracy & me showing support to the Army as we waited to lay wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery.

We got to participate in "Wreaths Across America" and lay wreaths on graves @ Arlington. It was quite an experience...and a beautiful day.

Those are my “fun pictures” of the moment.

In between all of that stuff I’ve just been working, finishing up the semester (done next week!!!!), and hanging out with Chris.  Life is busy, but better than it’s been in years and filled with love, laughter and fun.

Friday is Big

So I’m excited to say that on Friday, I will see one of my very first big projects come to life at work.

I was put in charge of coordinating a blood drive for our hotel, and after six weeks of planning, the drive has finally arrived.  With over 600 employees at our hotel, we have the potential to donate a priceless gift in mass quantity, so I was excited when I was able to take the lead.  Not to mention I’m passionate about the cause in general and have been donating blood since I was 18.

My initial meeting with the Red Cross had us hoping for 20 pints of donated blood.  That would require 22-23 donors.  Apparently in the years past there have only been 11-12 sign ups which resulted in about 10 pints.  While that’s all well and good, I was determined to knock that goal out of the park.

So, we started with 25 spots to sign up, and I am happy to say that after a month of recruiting, we have 54 people signed up to donate.  With the help of our Employment Manager, we have managed to more than triple past years sign ups!  Even if only 50% of the people who signed up actually show up, it will still be a success!

I’ve even managed to wrangle some Washington Nationals tickets to raffle off to donors which is just an extra bonus and reward for them doing something fantastic.

I have to say that I’m pretty proud of myself.  I created these awesome reminder cards yesterday that were hot pink and read “Thanks for signing up to be a hero” with a superhero blood drop on the front, and the details about their scheduled appointment time and other instructions personalized on the back.

I’m still hoping to reach our initial goal of 20 pints, and if we exceed anything past that then I’ll be ecstatic.

Here’s to doing good, giving back, and saving lives!

I Didn’t See This Coming…

…but I’m sort of enjoying “city life.”

Minus people being rude on the train, I finally see the advantages of public transportation.  Mainly that it saves me a shit ton of money as well as the stress that is involved whenever driving into the District.  Oh, and it’s so fast compared to driving.  Seriously, I never drive.  And when I say never, I mean never.  Okay, maybe like 3 times a month.  The last time I got into my car, I hit the brakes and almost hit my face on the steering wheel because I basically forgot how to drive! Mornings are much better than afternoons, as I can control what time I get my happy ass to the bus stop.  Coming home can be more difficult because I sometimes just miss the bus and then have to wait 20 minutes for the next one…but, sometimes I say screw it and take a cab home.  It’s only a 6 minute ride.

In addition to living closer to the city, I also like just being in and around the city on a daily basis.  I like that I can walk a few blocks to run my errands.  I like that when I go to happy hour with my work friends, we go to bars that are two blocks from the White House.  When I really stop to think about it, it’s just cool.

Honest to god, I never thought I’d live in Arlington, and I definitely never thought I’d work in the District.  But, I love it all, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Blood and Paint

I’m moving to Arlington on Sunday, but before that, I’m donating blood and painting my new bedroom!

The Washington Nationals are hosting a blood drive tomorrow, and I’m going at 11:30am to donate.

When I was younger, I used to donate every few months, but in the past few years, I’ve been turned down because I didn’t have enough iron in my system.  Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be successful.

Though the initial prick of the needle is uncomfortable, the 20 minutes it takes to donate a pint is totally worth it, as donating that small amount can really save lives.  If you have a blood drive at your office or community, you should definitely consider participating.

After my contribution to saving lives, I’m heading over to my new place to paint my bedroom.  I’m going with a medium green color which I think will be a nice compliment to the light blue I currently have for my linens.  I also think it will look good with the hardwood floors.

Similar color that I'm painting my room with.

Actual moving day is Sunday at 9am.  Can’t wait!

Lover Man & Escalump

This morning, while riding the train to work, I glanced up and saw a woman reading a book that had quite the entertaining cover.

The woman had no shame and displayed her book for the world to see.  God bless her, she gave me the morning giggles and I appreciate it.

OH, and on Monday, Metro decided to get a sense of humor, and posted these signs in some trains!  Talk about a great way to start off your Monday morning.  Escalump is my fav!

Escalump: A person who becomes a human speed bump by suddenly stopping at the top or bottom of a metro escalator.