Jenny Goes to Washington!

Over the past weekend I finally made it down to Washington D.C. to visit an old college friend. She actually lives in Alexandria, VA which is about 30 minutes outside of the city. I should I say 30 minutes without traffic and in the DC area- there is ALWAYS traffic so it actually takes about an hour! We tried to cram as much sight seeing in as possible, while still making an effort to have a relaxing weekend.

I arrived late Thursday evening and Melissa had the perfect place in mind to kick off my trip: a speakeasy! I am fascinated with American history and part of that history includes prohibition, where it was illegal to serve alcoholic beverages in the 1920s-1930s. This is when speakeasy establishments came into fruition. Think F. Scott Fitzgerald, jazz music, candlelight and of course, the unmarked door. In Alexandria, VA, there is a restauranteur who recently opened a modern speakeasy known as PX. Of course, there is not a sign so it's really a word-of-mouth type advertisement. It is so awesome! You look for the blue light and if it is on, ring the doorbell and a hostess will decide if they will let you in. It only has space for 30 guests so it's not a guarantee. Once inside, you will be led into a small apartment-like setting, with cozy couches and a beautiful wooden bar where they're serving up the best cocktails in DC- and in my experience, the best cocktails of my life! Of course, it's gotten a lot of attention, making "best of" lists and receiving many rave reviews throughout the blogosphere and in local magazines. The cocktails are magnificent and even if you do not drink- you'd be impressed with the artistry. They make many of their own bitters, sodas, and herb infused liquors. The PX in Alexandria is definitely an experience!

Friday morning we took the metro into DC and had brunch with Barack and Michelle... oh right, that didn't actually happen. How freaking cool would that have been?!? We did see the White House though- and I caught a glimpse of Alan Greenspan leaving the West Wing in a town car. He was probably still scratching his head, wondering where he went wrong in his free market regulatory strategy. The picture above is the front of the White House- pretty nice digs.
This picture was taken from behind the White House- you can see the Washington Monument in the background. There was a major protest going on asking Obama to help end the genocide in Sri Lanka. It made me feel a little ridiculous for saying things like, "why am I feeling like I'm being pulled in so many different directions!?!" Can you imagine being the President of the United States? Still, it is really awesome that we are allowed the freedom to protest and assemble- right outside the White House especially when you think about genocides and other horrific things going on in other countries. It amazed me at how much I take these freedoms for granted.
This picture is of the US Capital taken from the top of the Newseum. The Newseum is the only museum that I visited this trip. It is actually fairly new and it's where This Week with George Stephanopoulos is filmed every Sunday morning. Incredible museum- it has a news history gallery which includes historic newspaper front pages that span from 1545 to today. I found it really fascinating to see the headlines from the day after the events took place. For example, seeing the newspaper from the day after Lincoln was assassinated, made it seem more real than when I read about it in a history book. Looking at all of those news stories, one after the other, was interesting because I sometimes forget about all the news I have witnessed in just 30 years! I have to admit, I teared up a few times. It's just a lot to take in all at once.

The Newseum also has a "Today's Front Pages" gallery- where they post a local paper from each state. And- wouldn't you know, on Friday they had posted The Kitsap Sun for Washington! I thought some of you from Kitsap County would get a kick out of that!

I took a public tour of the US Capital building- so beautiful. The tour starts off with a video, which I have to admit I was thinking it was going to be really lame, that it'd be cliche tourist stuff- instead, I was really impressed with it. The video explains how our government was formed and it is astounding to realize how much foresight the founding fathers really had in establishing the method for how many representatives and senators each state would have. It then goes over all the legislation that had been passed. Again, I felt somewhat ashamed for spending so much time complaining about how our government works when I should be writing to my congress person. If we are unhappy with our representation - we need to step up and get involved. That was the "take-away" of my whole trip.

Other than that- here are a few other photos from my trip! Enjoy!

Washington Monument, Reflecting Pool
Oh Abe!- Lincoln Memorial
Front of Lincoln Memorial

Alexandria, VA

Recent New York Observations

Driving in NY:
Adam and I often have the same conversation about driving in this town: Albany drivers are insane! Not only are the drivers insane but the overall set up for moving traffic is unbelievably frustrating. We live on a main street which is Western Avenue. The street has more traffic lights than any other street I have traveled. The lights are not timed so driving 2 miles could seriously take 20 minutes. Because of this, most drivers run red lights. I have to admit that I have ran a few myself. This absolutely defeats the purpose of lights because you learn very quickly that just because the light is green doesn't mean you have clearance. It's very important to look both ways before crossing the intersection.

It's not Yuge, it's Huge:
I have an absolute pet peeve with how New Yorkers say the word HUGE- it has an H and not a Y- come on!

Is there anything more disgusting than combined fast food restaurants?
This one is not specifically a NY observation but I feel it should be addressed. The other day I passed a Taco Bell/Long John Silvers- something about a soft taco supreme and a side of fish sticks will make anyone want to vomit. I think I might have to start a campaign to shut these "restaurants" down immediately.

I wear sunglasses in the winter!!
I absolutely love how sunny it is here. The sun reflects off the snow and it's just cheerfully bright. Even though we've only had a handful of days above freezing- it makes me feel just a bit better when I pair my Dior sunglasses with my puffy coat!

Why I Love Being a Mom!

Ok, so this is my first attempt to put a video on the blog. I just happened to film Gavin when we were all playing in the kitchen last night and he was being pretty silly. I cannot figure out how to get the video right side up- I think I need to take a class at the Apple Store. Gavin finds the simplest things to be the most fun to play with. Last night, an empty soda box was the object of his affection. He had fun chasing it around the kitchen. So- just tilt your heads and you'll get the idea! I will work on getting better at the video portion - maybe if use an actual video camera instead of my little camera that will help. Anyhow- enjoy!

Comfort Food- Pseudo Shepherd's Pie

I have had a few requests for easy meals to make after a busy day. This one is just the trick to fill a hungry belly and give you that warm and fuzzy feeling we seek when craving comfort food. Growing up we just called it Hamburger Green Bean Casserole- I have no idea where this recipe originated. My mom said that my grandma used to make it all the time when she was growing up. There are many variations on Shepherd's Pie but this one is great for its simplicity.

Grandma Heather's Hamburger Green Bean Casserole:

1lb ground beef

1 onion, diced

1 can cut green beans

2 cans tomato soup

3 russet potatoes

1/4 c milk

1 tbs butter

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1) Peel and quarter potatoes and boil until tender

2) Brown hamburger with diced onion, drain fat, season with salt & pepper

3) Add tomato soup, green beans, and mix

4) Mash potatoes with milk and butter, add 1 cup shredded cheese

5) In a casserole dish, pour in hamburger mixture, top with mashed potatoes and sprinkle remaining cheese

6) Bake for 30 minutes or until potatoes are lightly browned

* I recommend placing a cookie sheet underneath the casserole in the oven as it has a tendency to boil over

This may sound like kind of a strange recipe but I encourage you to try it out!

Heat Wave??

I am sort of addicted to my Blackberry. I use it to text, email, check Facebook, read the NY Times, and also to check the weather forecast. I went to weather.com today to see what to expect this upcoming week and was excited to see warmer weather on the horizon. I read the forecast off to Adam: Monday 41, Tuesday, 49, Wednesday 52 and raining! I was delighted! We were talking about how the snow would finally melt and we could walk the dogs a bunch. Even the thought of rain made me smile... 52 and raining! Wow! It's going to be like living in Seattle!

An hour or so later I went upstairs to get ready for the day and turned the news on. The meteorologist was all baffled because he couldn't predict how a particular storm pattern was going to move. He started to explain that depending on how the pattern moved it could potentially hook up with some cold air from Canada and cause large accumulations of snow. WHAT?!? I thought we were going to see temps in the 50s... only then did I realize that late last week I had pulled up weather.com to see what type of weather Seattle was getting. No, that forecast was not for zip code 12203 but it was for 98115. That sucks! It's like I played an April Fool's joke on myself. Damn.