Five on Last Friday

Last Friday was a beautiful day here in DC. A perfect spring day. Too gorgeous to spend all day inside.

I had an errand I needed to run. I was planning to do it at the end of the day, but remembered that I had a telecon. At lunchtime, then, I retrieved a bag from my car and took metro from my office up to Eastern Market, ran my errand, bought a sandwich, and walked back to my office. Gorgeous. On the way, I passed through Barthodli Park and by the fountain (pictured). It was the first time I'd been there.

So here are my 5 on Friday for last week: 1) Walking 2 miles, 2) on a beautiful day, 3) while accomplishing both an errand and some exercise, 4) through a park I hadn't previously visited, and 5) seeing a beautiful fountain and learning more about it. It was just delightful!

Palm Sunday

L on left; A on right

Frustrating Five

I plan to get back to my Five on Friday, five things that made me smile during the week. First, though, I need to get my Frustrating Five off my chest.

5. Standard Time. I hate the switch from Standard to Savings Time. Now that we're on DST 8 months out of the year, can't we just be on the shifted time all year long? (And shouldn't summertime now be "standard" time and winter be "savings" time?) This week has been particularly tough with getting the girls to bed. All of us have had a hard time waking up.

4. Communication. I feel like the last island in the archipelago when it comes to receiving timely information.

3. Potty training. Just when I think we've progressed to the next stage, some new problem arises.

2. Allergies. This year's wacky winter has released the spring pollens early. I'm suffering greatly, especially on days when I forget to take my medications.

1. Self-flushing toilets. They're never calibrated to flush when I want them to flush, and they scare the girls.

Another Five

I've got to come up with better titles.

1. Basil and the prospect of fresh pesto.

2. Attending Diversity Night at school and watching the girls really get into sharing the Pao de Queijo with their classmates.

3. Getting our holiday pictures taken (and getting the pictures we needed). L had a melt down once we got in the studio, and I wasn't sure we were going to get a decent one of her.

4. Spending the afternoon with good friends just hanging out, walking their dog, coloring, etc.

5. Having an hour long conversation with a good friend in Vermont.

Now if we only avoid the dreaded "wintry mix" this weekend, it should be a good one.

200th Post

Well, Blogger tells me that this is my 200th post. Wow. Another thing to make me smile this Friday. Here are my five on Friday for this week.

1. Today is the birthday of my grandmother, my brother-in-law, and a friend from high school. It is also the anniversary of my cousin, who was expecting a baby due today.

2. My cousin's baby came early, so we now have another little girl in our family. She's a sweetie.

3. Over my lunch break today, I helped create Stone Soup in my girls' classroom. Oh, the joy of 1) working from home and 2) living directly across the street from the school. I used Brussels sprouts as the stones. The kids were totally into it.

4. Sorting through photographs. I love seeing how much the girls have grown.

5. Talking with friends that I haven't heard from in a while. Neither of them uses social media, so I have to make an extra effort to remember to reach out to them.

Another Five on Friday

It's been a rough week around here, so this one took me a little more thought.

1. Putting out my Halloween decorations, like this.

2. Discovering a new, quiet place to have lunch, the Hirshhorn Patio. It's just a few blocks from my office.

3. Showing the girls Dumbo for the first time. They really enjoy it, except for the weird drunken dream scenes.

4. Hayrides and Halloween crafts. (And discovering that L's costume wasn't working, so that we could move on to Plan B.)



5. The continued excitement of the emerging Monarchs at school this week. The big release was Wednesday, despite the wind and the threat of rain.

Five on Friday

It's been a busy week.

1. On October 4, 1991, I met DH for the very first time. It's hard to believe I've known him for 20 years. Reminiscing this week has been fun. And a very happy 20th anniversary for the people who introduced us.

2. On Sunday, I went to an alumnae club event. It was fun to reconnect and talk about my alma mater.

3. You are making me jealous with your pumpkin stitching. I'm enjoying seeing the variety of patterns out there.

4. Sleeping well. The cooler weather has been great. And we're in for a beautiful weekend here in DC. Yeah!

5. The girls have been studying insects in preschool this week. The butterflies are beginning to emerge from their chrysalis, which has the girls all excited. Plus, they're coming home singing the funniest songs. "Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen..."

That's all. Enjoy the long weekend, for those of you in North America!

Five on Friday

Things that made me smile this week.

1. Watching the girls really enjoy being at a Nationals game.

2. The new baby on the block. (She's a cutie!)

3. Cucumbers (finally) from our garden. The girls ate them before I could get a photo.

4. Learning that a college friend had a brand new baby girl. (Another cutie!)

5. Reading Catching Fire in two nights.

Five on Friday

Five things that made me smile this week:

1. Discovering that my office building still has a functioning mail chute. Bonus: Discovering that the patent for the original mail chute was issued on September 11, 1883.

2. A. receiving the "Potty Bear" at school for making progress in using the potty.

3. Designing, stamping, and finishing my Halloween cards. All in one evening.

4. Finding out that my friend Kim's new book has been released and that several reviewers think it might be a contender for the Newbery Award this year. {fingers crossed}

5. Spending Saturday morning outside in the beautiful weather playing with the girls.