Whole Lotta Fun

My mother has complained and so I write...

Last weekend was a lot of fun! Well, it started poorly, but got better! On Friday night I was so worn out from a terrible week at work. We were invited to a surprise birthday party for our friend Nancy. I had to work late, so I missed the whole "Surprise!!" part, but made it there for the party. I was pretty much in a daze the whole night, but did enjoy just being around other non-tax humans!

Saturday I got up and went in early to work. I spent about a half hour talking to one of my bosses. He calmed me down--helped me to destress--and so I set out to work for the rest of the day. Luckily my dear husband came and brought me a yummy home cooked lunch. Stroganoff!!! We also ran some errands. After a truly exciting afternoon of work, I went home for another night of surprises. Nate had planned a surprise night with our friends Eric and Erin. We drove into DC and went to a jazz club called Twins Jazz.

We got there early. The first people there! The menu was mainly Ethiopian food. Also a first for me. It was very good! Tasted a bit like Indian food. I got a lamb dish and Nate got this spicy curry chicken. After dinner we had a bottle of wine and relaxed while a jazz trio played. Then this spicy little woman got up and sang her way through a half hour. She was hilarious! All in all it was a great night. I had been complaining that we never go into DC anymore, and Nate surprised me with a fun night in DC doing something entirely new!

On Sunday we got up early and drove into DC again to attend Mass at the National Shrine. My coworker Marivi and her fiance Brian met us there. The building was extremely beautiful, as was the Mass. I enjoyed it. My second Mass in my lifetime!! I kept hoping that I wouldn't sit down or stand up at the right time : )

After Mass we went to the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery. It was extremely cool. The entire gallery is full of portraits of people from all ages. There was a "Civil War" room, "Presidents" room, and of course a "Modern" group of rooms. Nate and I really enjoyed the presidents room. They had a video showing speeches from a range of presidents. We especially liked JFK's "Ich bin Berliner" speech!!!

Someday I'd like to try the Berliner jelly donut.