Kindred Spirits

You know how you just have those people who get you? Anne referred to them as "kindred spirits" and I'm right there with her....and so Ms. Amanda Smith is a kindred spirit for me. We were inseperable in our year together in Jacksonville and since parting ways have kept our coast to coast friendship strong (she's in LA now). She came in town for the July 4th weekend and we packed it in..what can I say, I've done this a few times.. :)
Here we are enjoying the fireworks in front of the Air Force Memorial. They were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!

Here we are enjoying the Waterfront in Old Town Alexandria.

Getting ready to go out and take in the 4th of July DC Style (note my shirt..it says "Handcrafted with pride in America" haha. I love this shirt, a Goodwill special ;) )

Sitting on the lawn of the Capital building on the 3rd of July gearing up for the free concert featuring Natasha Bedingfield, Aretha Franklin and the man himself...Barry Manilow (we were so hoping he'd sing our song "Mandy"..but he didn't :( Haha.)

This was our view on the lawn..not a bad spot. It was such a great night..perfect weather and just a ton of fun. Plus on the walk back to the metro, we could see the fireworks over in Old Town...one of those great DC moments..have I mentioned how much I love this town?! :)

We ate dinner Thursday night at this little grill by my house and they had a free concert..I love live music, especially on a summer evening...just so..perfect.

Just Amanda and I getting ready for our weekend...it was such a great time. We went to Gettysburg on the morning/afternoon of the 3rd for the reenactment (which I will blog more about) and attended the concert on the Capital lawn that night, saw all the monuments at night and just took in the town...it was a great weekend with a great friend. I love this girl and wish she lived closer. Come again Amanda!

I've got moves you've never seen...

Movie Quote. I'll let you rack your brain trying to figure it out...it's one of my favorite to use, not sure why, maybe the sass ;).

Anyhow, so not sure if you heard, but Michael Jackson died. I know, they haven't really been covering it much...I mean only whole morning shows dedicated to it and partial sections of newspapers...it's a shame really. Such a great man...

Oh wait....not sure about the great man part (who am I to judge?), but one thing I do know...he had some dang good dance music! And in honor of his life, my roommates and I threw a Michael Jackson Dance Party Friday night...and I tell you what, we rocked the house!

Jami even busted out the leather pants...and the single white glove; she had the MJ look down...even moonwalked across the floor..that is talent. Forget the French horn Jami, I think Vegas is calling!

Through out the night different crowds of people slipped in and shook their groove thing, but from start to finish K Weed and I danced the night away...

When Kim and I get on the dance floor something magical happens...hahaha...we really do like to shake it together. I mean she called me Thursday night when she was dancing solo to MJ and that is when we decided we needed an entire night to Beat it to Billie Jean's Thriller.

Friends came and went, but they all boogied to the beats of the King of Pop. Here's Meg leading the pack. It was such a dang good time!! I mean we danced four hours straight...and we were all smiles. There is just something about good people and good music that make my heart happy.

Lucky for me, the dancing had only begun with Michael...Saturday, my childhood friend Alisabeth Hussey got married down in Portsmouth (about a three hour drive) and I brought Kim as my date. Ps. She is the BEST date I've ever had to a wedding! We tore that dance floor up like nobody's business. Most everyone else on the floor was quite nearly trashed from the hours of open bar and inhibitions were out the window! Perfect combo for dance crazed Mormon girls to get on down!

At the end of the night, a guy even came up to Kim and told her she was the best dancer in the whole "expletive" place! He was very nearly yelling it at her..so everyone could hear! It was so funny. But he spoke the truth, my little Weed knows how to work it.

Here we are with Rachel the gorgeous Matron of Honor all sweaty and glowing at the end of the night.

Rachel, Alisabeth and I frightening the single men...I don't really need one I guess. Haha. I love these girls, we've known each other since we were pre teens in Hawaii...Military brats bonded for life.

A few more friends from the Hawaiian days. We had such a good time catching up at the wedding. Kim just blended right in and we laughed, flirted (with men and their fathers.. Kim..Kim..haha) and danced the night away. I love weddings!

We were exhausted by Sunday night, but just the price you pay for living the DC life. I love this town!

Cleveland Rocks!

I was in Cleveland this week...and a friend sent me the following link...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZzgAjjuqZM

Hahaha..Ya I about died watching that clip, but even as hilarious as it was..it was not my impression of Cleveland. I thought it was a pretty fun town and though running into DMC was a rather pivotal moment of the week, Cleveland does deserve its very own post.
There were more than two buildings, but the biggest site to see was of course the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Established in Cleveland because the famous Cleveland DJ Alan Freed actually coined the phrase "Rock and Roll".

There was an entire exhibit dedicated to The Boss, who I am learning to appreciate more and more each day. The working man's Rock Star..I tell you what.

No pictures were allowed in the museum-which I have to admit was a good thing...or else I would have taken pictures of everything....Bono's first guitar EVER...the orginal outfit for the Bruce's Born in the USA album cover (red baseball cap and all) and just tons of pictures and trivia. It was a great place and made me realize how much great music is out there...I mean I've really got to get into Fleetwod Mac..that Stevie Nicks is something else.

Another great week on the road. I sure do love seeing the many faces of America, gives me an even deeper love for this great nation of ours.

Tricky

It's tricky to rock a rhyme that's right on time...

Don't know if you knew that. I mean have you tried? ;) Haha. Ya I ran into Run DMC (well Darryl McDaniels of DMC..he's on the right) at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio this week. Just a part of my life's goal to bump into the most random of celebrities.

Here's the story: I'm in Cleveland for work and we had some extra time on Wednesday the 24th, so we headed over to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (it was awesome by the way), well we're walking around (oh and I'm with some colleagues from work) and contemplating going up an escalator to the top floor when a very handsome black guy turns the corner. There are a few people with him, but nothing like an entourage, very inconspicuous. Once he passed mere steps in front of me and got on the escalator, I knew he was somebody..actor? Rapper? I walked right over to an Employee and asked who that was and she said "Oh he's in the group Run DMC, they're being inducted into the Hall of Fame tonight". What?! And sure enough I look back over and there is a huge picture of him hanging! Hahaha.


All this reminded me of my most recent celebrity encounter with Mr. Scott Wolf (Party of Five anyone?) on a flight from Atlanta to Salt Lake City. I recognized him when we were boarding and just waited patiently for the opportunity once we arrived in SLC. I couldn't help myself...I followed him off (no one else recognized him!) and just chatted it up. Touched his arm and told him how I was totally into his new series "The Nine" that they unfortunately canceled. Oh and then when we picked up our luggage..ya he stood right next to me and we bonded a bit more. Pretty sure he and his wife are stopping by for the Holidays...But what do either of those guys have on Mandy Moore? I mean seriously, Mandy Moore..she was a sweetheart. I was a dirty American tourist in London, who jumped off a bus and ran her down (ya, fortunately for me she didn't see the running part). Followed her into a small store and then quietly approached her to chat it up and get her autograph. Total doll. Up until I blew the one chance to prove I was cool (which I think I may have redeemed in my dialogue with Scott)...when I spoke those unretrievable words... "Way to go against Britney".

Ya I said it. I was flustered..it was back when her hair was cute and short and so was mine, but all anyone could talk about was Britney Spears..and...well, it made sense in my head! Hahaha.. poor Mandy was so confused and merely thanked me for my attempted compliment.



So there you have it. I'm a regular B List (maybe even C List?) magnet. Who knows, maybe Christian Slater is next...always had a thing for him ;).

California knows how to Party!

In the city...city of Compton. Haha. Hopefully now you'll have that song in your head, because I had it in mine the whole week I was in LA. :)

Yup, work sent me to LA..and better than that it sent me to Whittier, the exact town of my dear Amanda (we were BFF in Jacksonville and how I've missed her!). It was such a great week. I had a good team, got to see a few sites and spend time with a good friend. I've got a great set up, what can I say?
Cruising down the street with Amanda. These purple trees were everywhere in Southern California and I couldn't get enough of them. So pretty!

Amanda being the excellent tour guide....cruising down Beach blvd, hanging in the OC and just soaking up what little bit of the sun we could get.

Just a glimpse of the home I'll someday have on the hills of...Florida. What can I say, I'm a Florida girl...as nice as Cali was...there is no place like the South :).

One of the nights my team and I were able to stay in the Universal Studios Hilton and so we were able to stroll down City Walk. It was a lot of fun, they had a jumbo tron and kept playing U2..it just doesn't get much better than that.

Universal City Walk.

Universal Studios Hollywood. Where the magic happens! Or is that Disneyland? Hmm...

Aww...good friends are the best. Love you Amanda!

Just lounging on Laguna Beach eating gelato and waiting for LC to show up ;)

Ocean. Sand. The Beach. Oh how I love the beach!! Laguna was just as pretty as I remember. Too bad the water is just below freezing. Another reason to love Florida...good 'ole Gulf is like bath water. Love it!

Amanda and I soaking up the LA sun.

Ya, you read that right. Apparently I have my own gallery...wonder what was on display there?

Amanda taking care of me as usual. Chocolate covered strawberries. Our tradition. How I miss this girl. It was so great to once again mix business with pleasure, I am such a spoiled girl. It was a productive and fun trip, though I have to say LA is much dirtier than I anticipated, but still a fun city. We'll see what Ohio (Cleveland) has to offer next week!

Singin' in the Rain

One of the great things about summer is the storms. And well, whats more fun than frolicking in the street in a downpour of rain and even a tad bit of hail? Not much. Good thing Julie, my nearly as crazy as me, roommate was willing to enjoy mother nature's shower with me. Ah to be young again! :)

We were soaked instantly and the street was flooding as soon as we got outside.

Thought we'd take it all in atop Julie's car...haha.

We couldn't stop laughing! I haven't seen rain like this in years, even in Florida. It just came down in sheets and it was so much fun to play in!

Every once in a while it's nice to just forget the worries of the day and jump in puddles and remember what it was like to be young and carefree again. A good downpour just seems to clear the head...so bring on the rain!

Last but not Least

Jen. My Jen. Yup, she's mine, don't know if you knew that, but she is. Ever since Mexico in January 2004, Jen and I were a duo. We student taught in the Mexican Colonies together and we embarked on young, single adulthood in the real world a.k.a. Arizona..together. I adore her and she came to visit me. Which means that just about all of my "Arizona girls" have been with me in DC in the last 4 months. And what a blast they have been.
Here Jen and I are just loving each other..haha. She was such a great guest, letting me lounge around and eat junk and watch movies. Just like old times ;)

Cracking up like only we can.

Bonding with my roommates and Melanie of course. I love, love when Jen sings and adding Melanie and Kim was just a moment to cherish. Sitting around the piano singing along to Broadway hits... do we know how to have a good time or what?!

Our little Arizona roommate reunion. We sure did have fun living together. Such great memories. Now if we could just convince Jen to move to DC...

Once again, it was so wonderful to share my city with a good friend. These last few months have been super busy with guests but full of great memories that I wouldn't trade for a Saturday sleeping in, no doubt. I have truly been blessed with remarkable friends and I thank the Lord everyday for the people in my life.