2010 Highlight Reel

This year has r o a r e d  by. It was like a high speed train that blew through every stop. I have changed and grown (hopefully not my circumference) more in 2010 than maybe in any other given year. It was certainly full of some of the highest highs and lowest lows. Many aspects of my life stayed the same, and there were also many changes. I experienced surprises, and some instances surprised me because of the lack of change- like work. Keeping in mind that many things this past year were not happy or easy, here are some highlights of the best of 2010:

I rang in 2010 in the heart of Manhattan (NYC, baby!) wearing cocktail attire and sipping champagne. The ball drop was on a TV screen, but it was so exciting knowing that it was only a few blocks away and that Emma and I had walked around Times Square just hours earlier. We watched illegal vendors peddling glow-in-the-dark necklaces and 2010 glasses. F0r so many reasons, that was quite possibly one of the best new years I will ever experience in my life. I was on top of the world. I also learned that as travelers, Emma and I complement each other perfectly. 

I watched from the South Lawn of the White House as Marine One landed and Barack Obama walked to the Oval Office.

Just one short month later, DC got blasted with, not one, but TWO blizzards within days of each other. A snowplow was stuck in the middle of my street all week, for Heaven's sake. For many in DC, these blizzards, which coincided with Super Bowl Sunday, were a nightmare. There was no meat, cookie dough, milk, eggs, or frozen pizza on any shelves in DC. 

I had to work every day of the week since I live so close. BUT, I met Alan Greenspan that week. I also drank whiskey every night at local pubs with Emma and Noor and ended up meeting the folks who became my circle of friends.

SNOWPACALYPSE!

I went "Irish Car Bomb" hopping on U Street around Saint Patty's Day with Kenny and Emma and learned that it is a liability to serve such drinks, so most bars won't do it. For those of you who have never had the pleasure, it is a pint of Guinness with a shot of Bailey's and Jameson dropped in and chugged. It's probably good that we couldn't get them anywhere except for the Irish bar and Nelly's (gay sports bar- cleanest and prettiest sports bar you'll ever see). 

I also went to Hawai'i in March. It was mostly a fly-by for me. I spent 15 hours traveling there and arrived before my family, so I played on the beach, bought a towel, and passed out (hey, 5 hour time difference). I got 3 days there and played in the waves at Waimea Bay with my brother until I was so salty that I thought I'd never be hydrated again. The hardest thing in the world is to board a plane out of Hawaii. I must have been crazy to leave. Again.

Rachel

Rachel came to visit me! The weather wasn't too awesome, but it sure was wonderful to see her.

Preakness

I went to the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore with Emma and Erich.

Wedding reception

My cousin got married in May, so I was back to Wyoming for family and fun! The bridesmaid dress caused quite the drama, but it all worked out well. Clint and Alecia are married and happy. Next up in 2011: Cousin Hilery!

May also brought warm weather to DC permanently. I have spent lots of time on rooftops all over the city, notably on the rooftop of the Newseum for Cinco de Mayo and 101 Constitution for lots of different receptions. Cinco de Mayo definitely does not go into my highlight reel though- just the rooftop!

Emma and me in Michigan

On the road

I was ready for summer to get here. I don't care how hot, humid, and downright miserable DC gets. I love it. I looked gross pretty much the entire summer, but then again, so did everyone else. I drove my car out to DC from Wyoming. That little 30+ hour trip wasn't on my highlight reel purely because I never want to drive through Nebraska again. It smells. Also, the first day of driving was the 4th of July. My favorite holiday, and I didn't get to celebrate. Brother came with me though, and I loved the time with him. We even swung up to Michigan to pick up Miss Emma and spend the night with her sweet family. I'm so thankful he came with, and then he stayed in DC for a whole week! I needed him there and loved having him. 

I started swimming again this summer, and I learned that running really isn't that bad. It's not that good, either. I loved having friends over for dinner and wine in the backyard. Despite the fact that I am a mosquito magnet, it is so enjoyable to sit outside as the sun sets sipping on wine and talking story. I could stay awake forever in the summer. It is my season.

JACK JOHNSON PLAYED AT MERRIWEATHER. It was worth it for floor tickets. I could see the sweat dripping off him and G. Love. SO so so so fantastic. Did I mention that I loved this?!

Cody

Jimmy and I threw an epic block party in August, and my cousin Cody came to visit! I also turned 24 in August. I loved being 23 (it was my golden year), but so far 24 is pretty excellent. The CUBS were in town on my birthday!! Best. Present. Ever. So Jimmy, Jenny, Pat and I went to celebrate my birthday at Nationals Park. The Cubs won. Obviously.

I also got to make it back to Casper for the 3rd annual G. Michael Perry memorial softball tournament for Special Olympics Wyoming. It was good weather and even better attitude! 

Jimmy's girlfriend Jenny and I started having chai dates at Ebenezers and now we are roommates! Jimmy, Kenny, Travis, and I drove to Toledo, Ohio to watch University of Wyoming football! And they won! Anne met us there, too.

Christopher came back to visit in October. We sat in the 10th row at a Redskins game (Peyton Manning was right there. I mean, RIGHT there) and had great shenanigans.

Redskins v Colts

Zack flew into DC for Halloween, and everybody looked so excellent dressed up.

Kenny and I made pumpkin pies before Thanksgiving. It was bittersweet due to one of the lowest lows of the year- losing Don, his dad. Don's pumpkin pie was epic, and Kenny and I did our best to match it. It was special.

Uncle John's generosity made it possible for me to go to Gram's in South Carolina for Thanksgiving. Read about that here.

December honestly was a blur. The Capitol Christmas tree came from Wyoming this year! That certainly kept the office extra busy, but it was worth it because it looks gorgeous out there. I get to be in Wyoming for Christmas and stay to ring in 2011 with my family before heading back to DC.  


It is impossible to touch on each good thing that 2010 brought. So many happy, fun, and fantastic experiences occurred throughout the year.


My wish for you is that 2011 brings all things wonderful. I hope that your highlight reel for the year ahead is packed with happy memories.
Happy New Year!
Love Always,
Elisabeth

Images from Christmas

Here are a few pictures from Christmas 2010 that I snapped on my phone (hence the poor quality). My big present was a beeeaaaauuutiful new Nikon d3100 that I am figuring out slowly but surely. It takes the most gorgeous pictures, but I have nowhere to put them until I either fix my laptop or dish out for a new one. In the meantime, here are some images from my Christmas...

Fire crackling even though it was 45 degrees outside!

Sugar Plum Fairy ornament that I bought at the Kennedy Center in DC in 2008

Christmas morning grapefruit!! My favorite!

Reindeer pears

Christmas dinner table

O Christmas Tree

It is so nice that I was able to come be with my family for Christmas. There is no place like home for the holidays...
Love Always

Far from perfect

Well friends, 2010 is coming to a close. I've never been big on new year's resolutions because I think it's important to make an effort each day to improve oneself, though sometimes that proves difficult. I try very hard to be a good person, trying always to see the world from the perspective of others and to give from my heart. Yesterday I was confronted with the idea that maybe I don't accomplish this. Maybe I am selfish and I don't know it or see it that way- in my mind, that would be the complete opposite of who I strive to be. I might not always make the right or easiest choices for my life. I might not be a positive influence in the lives of everyone I encounter, but I damn well try.

If I have completely and utterly disappointed you in 2010, I am sorry.

The next post I write will be a review of the year and some of the things I have experienced and learned. I promise you, dear reader, it will be more upbeat. Thanks for letting me spill my guts.

Love always (a mantra I actually believe in- that's why I always write it).

Christmas in the heartland of the cowboy

I am in Wyoming for Christmas. It won't be a white Christmas this year, but it will be a Christmas surrounded by family, familiar music, laughter, and love.

A White Christmas in Casper, Wyoming for years past

In my house, we open presents from family on Christmas Eve and presents from Santa on Christmas morning. A generation ago, no one in my family lived in Wyoming. Now my grandma lives there, her 3 daughters, 5 out of 7 grandkids, and 2 of their spouses. For family gatherings, we are a crew of 15. Christmas Eve we get together in the afternoon for cookies, present exchanges, and just enough gluvine to make me slightly tipsy when we head to church for candlelight service. I adore that service, and I eagerly anticipate it every year. I like singing Silent Night in a church lit only by the flicker of candles. I like hearing the Christmas story. The service is what brings the magic into my Christmas and really puts me at peace.

After church my little family goes home and cozies in with hot chocolate to open presents from each other. My brother and I started wearing Santa hats for this at some point in our childhoods, and we still do this. I suppose much of what we do (we still wake up in the middle of the night to peek at presents) is out of nostalgia. We set cookies out for Santa on the same plate that we've used since I can remember, and we always remember only at the last minute that we need to unpack and hang our stockings.

The magic of Christmas lasted a long time for me. Since my brother is 6 years younger, I got to participate in making Christmas special for him even once I reached my teens. We wake up in the middle of the night to go look at presents, but now that we're older, we leave an "elf" present under the tree for my mom. The 3 of us pair up to get something special for the hardest working lady I know. It's fun knowing that she gets to have a surprise, too.

Christmas morning, once presents are opened, we have Gram Grapefruit. My grandma in South Carolina (dad's mom) sends us the most delicious grapefruits every year- Pittman and Davis. Mmmmm there is nothing like grapefruit on Christmas!

Many of our traditions carried over from my youth in Chicago and translated nicely into life in Wyoming. I can't wait to post pictures and share stories from this year. Hopefully everyone has a very happy Christmas and a wonderful new year. Love always.

Itineraries

I will be on an airplane in just a few hours! Yesssss!!

Plane taking off from National airport in DC (this is me soon!)

I love love love to travel, even when I'm traveling to a place I've been to a million times. I logged onto my United.com account to check in this morning, and I have 4 travel itineraries waiting for me. Hopefully I'm adding at least 3 more in the next few months. Nothing cheers me up or motivates me quite like an impending trip.

I <3 airports - NYC

This might sound crazy, but I love long flights. I look forward to my trip to Wyoming, because the first flight is 4 hours. That is 4 hours without my phone. I can't be bothered by anything. I can read, sleep, watch a movie, listen to music... whatever I want. 4 hours that are mine-all-mine. Maybe it's selfish, but I so look forward to that time. The only thing that could put a damper on my flight would be if my seat neighbors are smelly, intrusively chatty, or large enough to spill over into my economy-class personal space. It seems strange to be excited about being in a relatively inescapable compartment with no beds and a hundred other people 30,000 miles in the air.

AND bonus! United sent me 2 free alcoholic beverage vouchers. I think a glass of champagne might be in order because, well, why the heck not?

Happy Christmas! Wherever your holiday takes you, I wish you safe travels and, of course, love always.

Sister in Chicago's O'Hare airport

Chicago as the bird flies

The only time I'm sad to be on an airplane is when it takes me out of Hawai'i

What's Cream of Tartar?

Sunday Fun-day last weekend was celebrated with some of my lovely lady friends. We got together at my house to watch Love Actually. Something about this time of year makes me crave that movie... I think it's that Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas" is played by everyone, everywhere, and all the time throughout December. Emma had the great idea to make graham cracker gingerbread houses! In grade school we used to decorate milk cartons with frosting and candy. This was an upgrade. Check out some of our creations!

I was also a busy bee making cookies for a get together our office had with the office down the hall. I was out doing some Christmas errands on Saturday, and I stopped by Hill's Kitchen on Barracks Row. They sell cookie cutters in the shapes of all 50 states, the US, and DC. Since our office neighbors are from Vermont, I decided to create cookies in the shape of Vermont, Wyoming, and the Capitol building.

Frosting drying and capital stars strategically placed

They were pretty tasty, too! It's weird that the only cookies I've made for Christmas were not at all Christmas-y. Oh well.

Now if only I had enough motivation to finish filling out Christmas cards and start packing...

Love always!

P.s. DC, I love you.

Brother is 18

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little brother. You're not really so little anymore. As a matter of fact, you are a kind, thoughtful, and hard-working young man. I am so proud of the person you have become. You have a lot of life ahead of you, and the road will sometimes be bumpy. At times you will be tested, but you have a good head on your shoulders, and you are tenacious. I am confident in your ability to find happiness and achieve anything in which you truly believe. Never forget to always believe in yourself. Never forget to find happiness in the little things. Never forget how to love and let yourself be loved. You are such a blessing, and I am thankful for you every, single day.

I think you need to shave that mustache...

White House 2010

Look at us in our official White House visitor capacity

I had to include at least one picture of him as a kiddo!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy! 

Love, Schvetzil :)

The Thirteenth

Guess what?! Christmas is right around the corner. Work, as it does every year, is gearing up for it's last 2 weeks of the year and is a crazy place. I recently realized that I can't postpone Christmas shopping because I will be on an airplane and will have no time for last minute shopping. I have to think ahead and have things shipped and think about what all I can put in my carry on to bring to Wyoming for family... dang! I've had lots of fun going out with friends to holiday parties, staying in and making Christmas cards or, like last night, Christmas cookies with Emma (Ok, she did tons of baking and then after my swim I frosted like 10 of them), and fighting with my solar powered Christmas lights in the front yard. They do NOT work very well. 

Monday the 13th marked 9 years since my dad passed away. It has been an interesting road, and my grief has taken on different shapes as the years pass. Everyday I wish that I could ask his advice. It's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that all of the knowledge, experiences, and feelings that he had are inaccessible. I can't tap into any of it because it vaporized the moment he took his last breath. It's frustrating, and I miss him. About 6 years ago, my mom had the idea of taking food, magazines, and little toys over to the ICU waiting room for families to enjoy as they experienced the worry and waiting that comes with having a loved one in the hospital. I do this every year no matter where I am on the 13th. Hopefully it's one less thing for them to worry about and something small for them to enjoy. It's tough being there at anytime and definitely during the holidays. I had all the stuff boxed up to take over on the 13th, but I have yet to drop it off. I feel guilty about that.

About a year after my dad's heart transplant

On the night of the 13th, I went to Washington Capital's player Mike Green's charity event. It was at 9:30 Club and it was 2 and a half glorious hours of G. Love and Special Sauce. SO great! The proceeds went to food donation and to a charity that builds playgrounds! um, YES please! A positive place for kids to play and use their imaginations? That was money well spent.

Love Always.

A little bit of thanks

Around Thanksgiving, I had intended on writing about the things I am thankful for. I mostly just focused on enjoying my time in South Carolina, but now that I have a bit of time to write, I feel like mentioning a few things in my life that make me incredibly thankful.

I am thankful for my friends. I have friends who have known me forever, friends who understand my past so well that I don't need to explain anything to them about my feelings in the present- they just know, friends who- on a less than pleasant day at work- have cookies baking and ready for me to eat, friends who send me letters, friends who are patient with me, friends who like to go on adventures with me, friends that I could chat with for hours and hours, friends that I don't get to see often but when I do it's like we never missed a day, friends who are new, and friends to whom I reciprocate all of that respect and love.

I am thankful for my roommates. They clear out the dishwasher when I am feeling too lazy, and I like doing the same for them :)

I am thankful for the good people I work with. They are kind and brilliant.

I am thankful for my f a m i l y. I don't think that Blogger would allow a post long enough for me to express what they mean to me. I am the luckiest girl in the world.

I am thankful that I can swim. I find joy in swimming. It is not work to me. I like the time that it gives to me to just think. I like that it pushes me, challenges me, and that I can see the progress I make with my own hard work. I am a water baby.

I am thankful for my bed. It is comfy and warm and a space all my own. In grade school for writing projects around Thanksgiving, it wasn't uncommon for a teacher to ask you to write "If you were on the Mayflower and could only bring 3 things with you on the journey, what would you bring and why?" One of my answers was always, "My pillow". I'm thankful that I have a wonderful bed.

Of course I am thankful for so much more, and this is only a tiny bit of what all I could write about. I have good health, a job, etc etc etc. I just wanted to give a little bit of thanks. Better late than never. Enjoy your weekend and love always.

I love quotes

I love a good quote. Investor's Business Daily always has good ones. Here is a quote from Shakespeare that was on page A3 of today's IBD. 

"Honesty is the best policy. If I lose mine honor, I lose myself."

How Patriotic am I?

On Monday, I was in the Senate gallery as they opened the session. I can't believe I have never done that before. I mean, I've seen it from my desk on C-Span2 and such, but this was the first time I had been there in person for this. It was fantastic! Maybe I'm a nerd, but standing up in the Senate gallery with my hand over my heart and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance was positively one of the most American activities in which I've ever participated. USA!

love always

Awww Crap!

My mom would give me a disapproving look for using the word "crap" in the title. Anyhow, after a lovely Sunday morning church service and lunch in Eastern Market, I was walking home with a cup of coffee when I approached a "Do Not Cross" signal at a crosswalk. Right next to the corner was a tree, and right when I walked up next to it, a TON of birds flew out of the branches and landed on the ground. Now, I pretty much tweak out whenever I'm near birds. I have no idea why. I like the idea of birds just fine, but when I get around them with their fluttery wings and generally germy-ness, I get creeped out. So, all of these birds started flying around and I freaked out and considered changing course. And then I thought to myself, "Oh for pete sake, they're just birds." And then do you know what happened right when I decided to stick it out and give them a chance?! I GOT POOPED ON!

I've never been pooped on by a bird in all my years before Sunday, and this little rascal got me on my left shoulder blade. Of course it was a blustery day, so my hair was flying around and consequently I had poop both on my coat and in my hair. All I could do was laugh. For multiple blocks. And then wash everything in and around myself once I made it through my door. Sheesh! Isn't it supposed to be good luck? I'd rather find a penny.

Love Always.

I have no TV; I am a Martian

Guess what?! Yesterday marked 1 year of living in my current, adorable, wonderful house in DC!

Our little, blue house during Snowpocalypse 2010 before the snow broke our front door foliage and flag.

I have loved loved loved living here. I have found a fantastic roommate in George (I realized the other day that I've lived with him longer than anyone else outside of family members), and I was lucky to live with Noor and then Courtney throughout the last year. Now Jenny has moved in, and I'm sure more fantastic times are ahead.

This past year we have not only not had cable, but we haven't even had a TV in the house. "WHAT?!", you might ask. "How are you alive right now?" Well, I'm probably from Mars (or, Venus?) because I've really enjoyed being disconnected from our increasingly reality-tv centric population. I am not totally disconnected from the glorious-ness of TV thanks to things like Hulu, TBS streaming Conan episodes, and Netflix (you're welcome for the free endorsements... send me things?!). Those allow me to watch the shows I enjoy, and I appreciate that. Not having a TV has kept me from vegging out in front of the TV doing nothing but demolishing bags of pretzels though.

This year I've read more books than in any other year of my life, and I love it! I like that instead of being bored and wishing I had TV, I find adventures for myself, try my hand at cooking a new recipe, take a walk, read read read...  I do wish I had a TV to watch movies on sometimes instead of a laptop screen (which is no longer functioning anyway). Maybe I should start something like Oprah's book club but make it "Elisabeth's Book Club for People Lacking Other Means of Entertainment". That title is entirely too long though. I mean, the acronym would be EBCPLOME. No bueno. A gold star for whoever comes up with a better name. Or a better idea.

Love always!