Our Memorial Day

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend. We had a great time! Aunt Debbie and Gary were visiting this weekend, and we did all sorts of sight-seeing and went to several holiday events. It was a blast.

Debbie and Gary arrived on Saturday afternoon. We had lunch at the apartment and then I took them out to King Street for some shopping, and Eric met us out there for dinner. Then we took them for our ever-popular nighttime monument tour (it really is the best way to see the monuments, I think). All the monuments looked beautiful all lit up, as always. Plus, they were all covered in wreaths, flowers, and other memorabilia in honor of the holiday. It was really moving.

The Korean Memorial covered in wreaths for the holiday

On Sunday, Eric opted to stay in to do some bar exam studying (poor thing, that will be the story of his life this summer), so I headed out with Debbie and Gary to see some more sights. We went to the Old Post Office Pavilion and tower, and then the two sculpture gardens on the Mall. It was an absolutely beautiful weekend weather-wise, so it was really nice to stroll through the sculptures on such a gorgeous day.

From there, we picked up some hot dogs from a street vendor for dinner then headed to the Capitol lawn to find a seat for the PBS National Memorial Day Concert, which was wonderful. It was moving and sad at times, as they told veterans' stories from several different wars. I enjoyed the music and performances very much, and it was a beautiful night. We had a great time.

The Memorial Day Concert stage (host Gary Sinise is on the screen)

On Monday, Memorial Day, we all (including Eric!) got up early to go to Arlington Cemetery for their Memorial Day ceremony. We got there about an hour and a half early, and the Amphitheater where the ceremony was to be held was already jam-packed with people! There were no seats left, so we had to stand in a roped-off section in the back. We still had a pretty decent view, and at least we were in the shade, so we were pretty content. While we waited for the ceremony to begin, Senator Bob Dole came walking down the line of people, shaking hands! So that was pretty neat.

Senator Dole

Then, just a few minutes before the ceremony was going to start, someone approached us and told us that there were open seats available (I guess not all of the reserved seats had been filled), so they offered us a seat. We said sure, and followed the woman to our seats - about 8 rows from the front of the Amphitheater! It was incredible, our seats were fantastic! So we ended up with a great view of the stage, including President Bush when he spoke, and we were right along the side where other important political figures sat, including the First Lady. Talk about luck!

The President and Secretary of Defense during the National Anthem

Laura Bush

The ceremony was, of course, beautiful. Once it was over we did a little bit of walking around Arlington Cemetery. All the graves were decorated with flags, which was cool to see. In our wandering, we actually came across something Eric and I had never seen before - the graves of several Supreme Court Justices! We found the graves of Justices Douglas, Stewart, Blackmun, Marshall, and Chief Justices Burger and Rehnquist. We found Rehnquist purely by chance, as he was not buried in the same cluster as the other Justices were. As we were looking at the graves of the others, I wondered where Rehnquist was buried, but we didn't see him so we continued on. I then stopped to take a picture of the Arlington House over a hill with headstones in front. I just thought it was a neat shot. When we got home, I realized that I had taken a picture of Rehnquist's headstone without realizing it!

The graves of Brennan, Burger and Stewart

Chief Justice Rehnquist is the center headstone in this picture, behind the very front one

We then left Arlington Cemetery and headed over to the Marine Corps War Memorial, which I had never seen before. It was very impressive.

Eric and I at the Marine Corps Memorial

After that we had lunch in Rosslyn (and introduced Debbie and Gary to Chipotle, which I swear, will change your life - and they will now back me up on that), then Eric went back home to continue his studies while I took Debbie and Gary back into DC for more monument walking. We started by stopping at the WWII Memorial to find a little-known secret that Debbie had read about: Kilroy! As you can see below, we were succesful!

"Kilroy was here" at the WWII Memorial

After locating Kilroy we hit the FDR Memorial and Jefferson Memorial. Then, Debbie and Gary decided to continue on with their sightseeing and I went home to hang out with Eric for a bit. We cooked dinner for them that night when they had finished their touring of DC.

Tuesday Debbie and Gary did their own thing, so Eric and I had the day to ourselves. And we bought a Wii Fit! It's so much fun. I'm sure you can expect a whole separate blog post relating to the Wii Fit one of these days.

Wednesday, Gary left, so Debbie and I spent the afternoon shopping in Old Town together. That night we ordered pizza and watched our wedding video with her, then she left early Thursday morning. And that was the last of our visitors for a while!

We had a great weekend, and even though we're exhausted after our solid month of visitors, Eric and I love hosting guests. Please everyone, feel free to visit us in DC in the next two months, or in NYC after that! We'd love to have you!

An American Hero

My grandfather

In honor of Memorial Day, I thought I would write a little post about my grandfather, Papa. Papa was a US Marine who fought in World War II. He passed away about 10 years ago, but before he did, he had the forethought to record his wartime experiences on audio cassette so that we would always know his story. Several years ago, my dad went back through Papa's tapes and transcribed them. He also did a great amount of research for pictures and background information about the places and people Papa mentioned. Dad then assembled it all onto a website for anyone who was interested to read. If you are looking to read the story of a real-life American hero, you can read my grandfather's story here.

Papa had told me one story about his experience, which I have always remembered. One day at Guadalcanal, he was working in a foxhole when bombs hit on either side of where he was. He was not hit, but the bombs pushed dirt into the foxhole, essentially burying him alive. Thankfully he was dug out by other soldiers and was alright, but was sent to the field hospital, where he was offered sleeping pills to get him through the night. He refused the pills because he wanted to be alert in case anything happened. Later that night, he had an uneasy feeling so he left his hospital bed and went to a dugout that was used for an air raid shelter. Then, the Japanese began bombing the area again. When the attack subsided, Papa went back to his hospital bed, only to find that a piece of shrapnel had pierced directly through his bunk, straight down to the dirt below it. How lucky that he was not there! I'm so thankful for his uneasy feeling!

Papa's Oral History of Service is divided into two parts. Part I discusses his first tour of duty, and includes the story I told above. Part II discusses his second tour, and includes many more interesting tales, including his marriage to my grandmother! If you're in the mood for a patriotic tale this Memorial Day, it really is a good read.

My grandparents (on the right) on their wedding day

In addition to being a soldier, my grandfather was a great man. He was quiet and reserved, but in a way that you knew he loved you without him having to say it. Many of my great childhood memories are thanks to Papa. For example, he loved to fish and took me fishing for the first time when I was a young girl. He caught a catfish on his line, but let me reel it in so that I could say I caught it (it was too big for me though, so I still needed his help!). I was so proud of that fish I caught! It sat in a bucket in our backyard for quite some time, if I remember correctly, because I couldn't bear to part with it but we didn't really know what to do with it. Papa also built dollhouses for each of his granddaughters when we were young, and my dollhouse was one of my most favorite toys. I can't wait to pass it on to my own daughter someday. Also, Papa loved to garden, and every spring he would come help me plant a garden in our backyard. We planted tomatoes, sunflowers, peppers, cucumbers, green beans, carrots, pumpkins, watermelon, lettuce, and on and on. That was always a great summer tradition - picking fresh vegetables from the garden, thanks to Papa's help.

Baby me with Papa and Grandma

So, today on Memorial Day, I am thinking of Papa. Thank you, Papa, both for your service to our country and you devotion to your family. Thank you for giving me those memories. I love you!

The Graduation Weekend

So, as promised, I thought I'd post some details about last weekend with Eric's family, when they were in town for his graduation. We had a great weekend, and it was wonderful to be able to show his family our apartment and our DC life.

Everybody arrived on Friday morning, within a few minutes of each other. We got everyone their metro passes and then brought them back to our apartment before taking them to check into their hotel. We re-convened for lunch at our apartment, then took the metro to Arlington Cemetery to pick up a sight-seeing bus to take us around the hot spots in DC. It was a pretty thorough tour, but our tour guide certainly left something to be desired - he threw a complete hissy fit at Eric when Eric tried to point out a couple of things to his grandma, saying "do YOU want to give the tour? Do you?" and later he similarly demanded the attention of another passenger way in the back. Methinks somebody needs a vacation!

After the tour, we all rested up a bit, then Eric and I prepared dinner for our guests. Everybody seemed to get a kick out of seeing Eric all domesticated, in the kitchen - if only they could see our real life, they wouldn't believe it! He spends way more time in the kitchen than I do, and I love him for it. Especially for the doing-the-dishes part.

Eric and I cooking dinner

On Saturday, Toni, Gramz, Eric and I decided to take it easy at the apartment, while Ron and Suellen opted for some sight-seeing. Eric pointed them in the right direction, and they headed out to see the Hope Diamond at the National History Museum, among other things. I hear they had a really great day.

Meanwhile, the other four of us went out to lunch then to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients for Toni's always-wonderful sauce. Then we spent the afternoon at the apartment, where she cooked the sauce and let Eric watch for tips so he knows all the tricks the next time he makes it. Other than that, we just chatted and caught up, plus Eric and I showed Gramz and Toni some of our pictures and introduced them to some "internet celebrities," like the sneezing panda, laughing baby Ethan, the dramatic gopher, and the Numa Numa kid. (If you are unfamiliar with any of these, I sincerely recommend you click the above links and familiarize yourself with them immediately. The panda and Ethan are my favorites.)

Eric introducing Gramz to the wonderful world of YouTube

Saturday night we had dinner with Toni and Gramz, then a nightcap with Ron and Suellen after they returned from dinner out with a friend. Then everybody was off to bed to rest up for the Big Graduation Day!

Sunday is recapped below, so there is no real need to go over that once again. However, mentioning graduation wouldn't be complete without me saying how proud I am of Eric, so I guess I'll just throw that in one more time, for good measure!

Sunday night, after graduation, we ordered in pizza and Chinese for dinner with Toni and Gramz, and looked at all of the pictures we had taken of the graduation. Then we said our good-byes to them, as their flight left early in the morning the next day.

Monday we met up with Ron and Suellen in the early afternoon to do some sightseeing. We had lunch in Chinatown, then Eric and I gave one of our infamous walking tours, which included the Police Memorial, the Georgetown Law Center campus, the Capitol, and the Library of Congress. It was a beautiful day, so it was very enjoyable. We returned home to change for dinner, then had a wonderful meal at Legal Seafood. After that, we spent a little more time together at our apartment before bidding them farewell also.

Eric, Ron and Suellen on the Georgetown Law campus

The Supreme Court on a very beautiful day

And that was our weekend! Thank you all so much for coming! We love having visitors, so please feel free to visit again soon!

My Husband, Juris Doctor

Well, it's official! Graduation was a great success, and Eric officially has his juris doctor degree. I realize I am starting to sound like a broken record with this, but I really am so proud of him. He worked so hard, and the last few years have gone by so quickly. I can't believe it's over already!

So, now for graduation details! The ceremony was held at the Georgetown undergraduate campus, which is separate from the law school. We had never been there before, because it is not really easily accessible for the driving-impaired. The ceremony plan involved the bulk of the ceremony being held outdoors on the Healy lawn, surrounded by gorgeous old buildings. This first part on the lawn included the graduation speaker, conferring of the degrees, etc., and all graduating law students would attend this portion. Then, the graduates would split into their "sections" for the actual diploma distribution in separate locations. That way, the spectators wouldn't have to sit through 600 names being read. Rather, they only did about 100-120 per section. So, that was nice.

The planned backdrop for Part 1 of the ceremony

As of Saturday, however, there was a glitch: 70% chance of severe thunderstorms! Not so good for the outdoor portion of the program. So, everything had to be moved indoors. The problem with that was that to attend the indoor program, you needed tickets, and we only had 4 tickets for the 5 people in our group. However, my wonderful mother- and grandmother-in-law volunteered to go straight to the second (diploma-awarding) location to save seats, allowing Eric's father, stepmother, and doting wife (that's me) to go ahead to the first portion with no concern for the ticket shortage. Thanks, Toni and Gramz!

Eric and his mother walking to the diploma location

That pesky doting wife again

So, we had two taxis pick us up from our apartment at 12:15 to take us to the University. From there we dropped Toni and Gramz off at the diploma location and the rest of us continued on to McDonough Arena for the first portion of the ceremony. We were VERY early, so we spent quite a bit of time sitting and reading through the program. Things finally got underway at 2:00. The 600 graduating law students processed in (and somehow all three of us managed to miss Eric as he walked past us), and then the speeches got underway. At long last, the degrees were conferred on the group, the graduates were declared "sons and daughters of Georgetown forever," and then they were hooded. Then it was on to Part 2.

The graduate after Part 1 of the ceremony

Toni and Gramz had saved us excellent seats in the front row at the second location, so we were good to go for that! At that part of the ceremony, the student speaker said a few words then the diplomas were handed out. How great to hear them announce Eric's name, Juris Doctor! Can I say it one more time? I am so proud of him!

Eric getting his diploma!

From there it was off to find a scenic spot on the campus for pictures (which was not hard to do). The usual post-graduation photo-op commenced, then Eric and I called cabs for everyone to get home while we ran to drop off his regalia. By the time we returned, the first of the 2 cabs had already arrived, and Toni, Gramz and Eric's stepmother Suellen had taken that cab. Meanwhile, Eric, his father, and I waited for the second cab.....and waited....and waited. After one hour and several phone calls to the cab company later, we finally gave up and just started walking until we were finally able to hail a cab on our own. Phew! That day turned long there at the end.

So that is the story of Eric's graduation. It was a great event, and I am so glad to have been here with him to experience it. I am also so glad his family was able to come. That really helped make it even more special!

I'll be posting again in the next day or two with more details about our weekend with family, but for now, here's a few more graduation pictures:

Eric and his rather fancy piece of paper

Showing off his snazzy hood. 

A little info about the regalia:

The sleeves of his gown and the stripes on them represent a doctoral degree. 

The stripes on the sleeves , the front part of his hood, and his tassel are purple, which is the color symbolizing law.

The inside of his hood is blue and gray, to represent Georgetown University.

Congratulations, Eric!

Congrats, Georgetown Law Class of 2008!

IT'S GRADUATION DAY!

Today marks the official end of Eric's law school career! His parents and grandmother are in town and we are all very excited to attend Eric's graduation ceremony, and we are all so proud to be a part of his great accomplishment.

Congratulations to my amazing husband, and to all other 2008 Georgetown Law graduates!

Happy Birthday, Molly!

Happy Birthday to my cousin Molly! Hope you're having a great day!

Molly and me, 1986

Business in the Big Apple

I spent this past weekend working on a project in New York. I had been really excited for the chance to get up there and see the city again. I've been sort of apprehensive about the move lately, and about how much I'll really like it up there, so I was hoping this trip would fully renew my excitement. Well, I didn't get to see much of NYC because I was literally working the ENTIRE time I was there. At times, I even forgot I was in New York. I didn't even realize that the building I was working in had an excellent view of the Empire State Building until we were about to leave, because I was simply too busy to look out the window and take notice. I saw the city for all of 10 minutes, on my cab rides to and from Penn Station. Well, I guess I did also see it a little bit from my hotel window:

But...I did get excited all over again! I can't believe we're really going to live up there. There was just so much to look at, so much going on, and it's like that all the time. I think it's going to be a blast. If only we could know where we will live, I think all my apprehension would disappear and I could go back to being completely and totally excited. But, we don't know where we'll live yet, and I don't do so well with an uncertain future!

I can't wait for everything to come together so we can start our life as New Yorkers! Just a few more months!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all of you moms out there are having a wonderful day. Eric and I have been blessed with some really great Moms in our lives, so I thought today I'd say a little something to each of them.

To my mom - Over the years, it has really been wonderful to get to know you as more than just a mother, but as a friend as well. I love that we have such a close relationship and I am so lucky to have a mom like you! I wish I could be there to spend the day with you, but I'm thinking of you! I love you!

To Grandma - You are one of the strongest women I know. I really admire your spirit and passion. I love you very much and miss you! I hope you are having a wonderful day. I wish I could be there!

To Nana - I miss you!

To Toni and Gramz - You are two of the most amazing women I know. You have welcomed me into your family with open arms since day one, and am I so grateful for that. Toni, thank you for raising your son to be such an incredible man. You did a wonderful job! And Gramz, you are one of the coolest grandmothers ever. Not many grandmothers can get away with a "Z" on the end of their name, but you can pull it off - that's how cool you are! I love you both!

To Suellen - You have always been very generous and kind to me. Thank you for your love and support over the years. I'm so glad to be a part of your family now! 

To Grandma L. - I'm so glad you were able to come to our wedding so I could finally meet you. I'm very much looking forward to getting to know you better when Eric and I move to NYC!

Thank you to all of you Moms for everything you have done for us. We wouldn't be who we are today without you! We love you!

My mother and me

Nana

As Mother's Day approaches, I've been thinking a lot about my grandmother, Nana. She passed away nearly three years ago. I think about her a lot around Mother's Day, because that was the last time I really got to see her up and about and talk with her. She had cancer, and was getting worse by May 2005. My mother had been flying back and forth from Florida to Cleveland to help my grandfather care for her, and was planning a trip for Mother's Day weekend. I decided to come along as a surprise for Nana. Of course she was thrilled, and I was so glad that I made the decision to go. The next time I saw her, she was unresponsive and passed away a few days later. I will always be grateful that I was able to spend that last weekend with her.

Nana was an amazing woman. She was beautiful, inside and out. Her family was second only to her God, and she always thought of others before herself. She was generous and kind. She would always give me presents on my sister's birthday (and vice versa) so that I didn't feel left out because Heather was getting all the attention. She always made sure everyone in her house was well-fed and comfortable. She always remembered how much I loved potatoes and made sure there was an extra twice-baked potato for me. She was always certain that going to bed with a wet head would lead to pneumonia or rheumatism (once or twice, I believe this even led to her purchasing a hair dryer for me). She used to make us sweatshirts with various designs on them, including the infamous poinsettia sweatshirts that all the ladies of the family wore every Christmas for years. Her hair was always perfectly styled. She loved gardenias. She made sure the family got together for reunions each summer. She and my grandfather had an inspiring marriage. She was a wonderful wife, mother, and grandmother. She was an angel.

So, I always think of her a little bit more than usual around Mother's Day. I remember while I was there that weekend my mom bought me a big stuffed pig. Nana thought it was so cute, and as we left for the airport to return home, I kissed Nana goodbye and then walked out with that pig under my arm, which she seemed to think was just adorable. I looked back and saw her laying there, laughing at me with that pig under my arm. That's a laugh I'll never forget.

I miss you, Nana. Ich liebe dich!

Me with Nana and Gramps, June 2004

Eric is DONE!

More congratulations are in order for my wonderful husband...as I write this, he is taking his VERY LAST law school exam! As of 9:00 or so tonight, he will officially have finished law school. Now he gets to enjoy a full week of having absolutely nothing to do except sleep in, play golf, beat Zelda, and whatever else his heart desires. What a great feeling!

Congrats Eric, once again. You did a great job. What a huge chapter in your life to have put behind you. I'm so excited to be here with you, sharing this milestone with you as your very proud wife!

I love you!

A Little More Tebow Fever

So, it has been made clear to me through blog comments that not all of my female family members fully support my moving on from a Jesse Palmer crush to a Tim Tebow crush. I felt I needed to comment on this highly important issue.

While I do agree that the picture I posted below of Jesse is, as one might say, rather "dreamy," I have seen the error in my purely superficial ways and have moved on to looking at more than just rugged jaw lines and manly stubble (although I apparently have not moved past biceps, judging from the Tebow picture to the left). Tim Tebow is not only easy on the eyes, but is someone to be admired for his kindness, dedication, and his Christian faith. Eric recently sent me this article about our good friend Timmy, and I thought it was pretty amazing. Tebow has decided to make use of his position as a Heisman winner and star quarterback for the 2008 National Champions (okay, I'm getting a little ahead of myself there, but who disagrees?) to share his faith in ways that otherwise might not be available to him, such as ministering to prison inmates. 

So, although I will always hold a special place in my heart for Jesse Palmer, I can't help but notice a contrast: Jesse used his QB fame to land him a spot on a reality TV show (although he certainly does have a face for TV, so you can't fault him there), while Tebow uses it to spread the Word to prison inmates and sick orphans. I find him to be very inspiring, and hence, my Tebow love. 

And really, come football season, it will be the best of both worlds - Jesse is now an ESPN college football analyst. So, you can watch Tebow play the game, and Jesse during halftime. A win-win! :-)

The Cousins Club: DC Chapter

This past weekend, my cousin Molly and sister Heather were nice enough to come visit me! They are two of the coolest people I know, so that's always a good time. They arrived around noon on Saturday afternoon. Eric and I met them at the airport and brought them back to our apartment for some lunch and initial catching up. Then, we really got the weekend started!

First, we went into DC to visit the Old Post Office Pavilion. They have live music inside on the weekends, which is always pretty fun. The best part, however, is the tower. You can go up to Observation Deck at the top of the tower and check out a GREAT view of DC. Plus, it's free, and not very well-known so it's not usually very crowded. From the top, you can see all kinds of neat landmarks: many of the monuments, the White House, the Capitol, some very cool rooftops and even some Virginia landmarks like the Pentagon and Air Force Memorial. On a good day, you can even make out our apartment!

Heather and Molly on the observation deck

One of the very cool rooftops you can see from the tower. Wouldn't you love to spend your lunch break up here?

After wandering around DC a for a while longer, we decided to head back to Virginia to do some shopping in Old Town Alexandria. My office is located in Old Town, and it is one of my favorite parts of living in DC. Along King Street, there are tons of restaurants and neat artsy and antique shops. King Street eventually dead-ends into the Potomac River, and down by the water there is a great little pavilion with lots of benches to sit and enjoy the view, and there are always a number of street performers and musicians out there. It's a great way to spend an afternoon. We went in some cool shops, and even saw a wedding party being escorted down the street by a bagpiper!

With Heather on King Street

I had wanted to take the girls out for dinner to celebrate their birthdays during their visit. Heather's birthday was at the end of March, but I wasn't able to make it home for it this year. Molly's birthday is coming up on May 15. So, we decided to grab some dinner on King Street. We went to Bertucci's for some delicious pizza and a bit of wine, which was great fun!

The ladies at Bertucci's

After dinner we headed back to my apartment, where we changed into our matching pajamas (a true Cousins Club tradition), cracked open a bottle of wine, and went through all my various wedding albums and scrapbooks. Then we turned in to rest up for another big day.

Reminiscing about the fun of my bachelorette party!

On Sunday, we decided to spend the afternoon at Arlington Cemetery. We visited the usual sites, including the Kennedy graves and the Robert E. Lee house. We also went searching for the grave of our great-uncle Bob, who was married to my grandmother's sister. He and my great Auntie Ayeliffe lived in Silver Spring, MD. Uncle Bob was in the Marine Corps in World War II, and worked for the FBI for many years. He passed away at the end of last year and was buried in Arlington Cemetery in January. After a fair amount of searching, we finally found him in a beautiful location - on a hill, just to the left of Bobby Kennedy's grave, right along the path to the Robert E. Lee House. It really made the visit to the cemetery a little more meaningful to be able to visit family there.

My great-uncle's grave is in the front. The Robert E. Lee house is barely visible over the top right of the hill.

We then headed over to the Tomb of the Unknowns, where we were just in time to catch the Changing of the Guard, which is always cool to watch. We also were able to see a Wreath Laying Ceremony, which I had never seen before. It was really nice - they removed the wreath that was in front of the tomb and placed in a row with many others on the ground in front of the tomb. Then several civilians, escorted by a guard, brought down a new wreath and placed it on the stand. A bugle player then played Taps, which is always so moving.

The Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns

VIDEO: "Taps" during the Wreath Laying Ceremony

After that we checked out the Amphitheater, then decided to leave the cemetery and find a spot to sit and eat the sandwiches we had packed for lunch. We were so lucky with the weather. It was just gorgeous all weekend, so our picnic was very relaxing. Then we headed home, where we watched my wedding video (and thoroughly enjoyed watching the bad dancing that went on, largely on the part of our family), drank some wine, and had a delicious dinner prepared by Eric.

After dinner we headed into DC once again for the Eric & Meghan Nighttime Monument Tour. The monuments are so beautiful at night, and there really were hardly any other people out and about so it was very peaceful. Of course, Molly and Heather were also treated to a visit to our "proposal step" at the Lincoln Memorial. 

Waiting for the metro at Crystal City

At the Lincoln Memorial

After the monuments, we were pretty beat so we came home to relax. We looked back over all of our pictures from the weekend and then went to bed. Monday morning, we got up and went out to breakfast at a local diner before we had to head to the airport. We dropped Heather off at her terminal around 2:30 and then had 2 hours to kill before Molly's flight, so she and I had a glass of wine (are you noticing a trend?) at a cute little wine bar to kill some time. Then we explored some uncharted hallways of the airport before finally getting Molly to her terminal. And then we parted ways.

Thanks so much for visiting me, ladies! I had a wonderful time. Our next CC* reunion will have to be in Peoria. You guys are the best! Can't wait to see you again in July!

On a side note, if anyone is looking for a good way to remove red wine from carpet, I highly recommend OxyClean. OxyClean Salesman Guy may be yelling at you in the commercials, but believe me, he would not steer you wrong. It's good stuff. You know, just in case you hypothetically spill your wine all over the carpet. But I don't know anyone who would do such a thing. Really.

Round 2 is Next

GO CAVS!

They (finally) beat out the Wizards to win the first round of the playoffs. And handily, I might add. Aaaah, sweet justice after our most recent Wizards experience! Three years in a row, the Cavs have beaten the Wizards in DC in Round 1. I wish we had been there tonight, but I'm still pretty excited. Here's hoping they can go all the way.

In other very exciting news, Heather and Molly are coming to visit this weekend! They arrive tomorrow around noon, and we are all very much looking forward to a weekend of DC fun, cousin/sister bonding, and lots o' wine. Hooray!