Longest Month Ever

Though shortest in days, February feels like the longest month and this year proved no exception. Cold and snow and cold and snow and more cold and more snow. I'm a Utah girl so I should be prepared for winters like this but this year was pound you into the ground until you're bruised and bloodied and forgotten what warmth feels like. It didn't help that I had to travel to Toronto twice. Yes I may be being a bit dramatic but I don't care. This year's winter tested all my sanity.

A few highlights:

Captured a perfect sunset at the temple

Visited Lincoln's Cottage (missed the tour though)

Found 1st National Cemetery (aka Arlington Light)

Additionally my friend Mel came to town for a week so I spent a few days driving to Leesburg after work to play with her and Cheryl. One night we went to Cheryl's gym and did pilates. I wish someone had a camera as we looked quite uncoordinated at times.

The biggest news that happened in February started from a Sunday morning message from my boss's boss asking if I'd seen his email the day before. I hadn't since I don't check my emails on the weekend. Quickly looked and he asked if I would come up to Toronto for leadership meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday. Having no idea why I was singled out but also knowing I'd miss an important opportunity at work, I logged onto my company's travel site and booked a trip the next day. My boss chatted with me the next day and mentioned that the org changes that we all thought were going to happen were tossed aside for a new plan from the VP. After two days of meetings, I still had no idea why I had been asked to join. An hour before leaving for the airport, the VP pulled me into his office to chat. What he suggested was exactly what I had been hoping for and immediately accepted a new role. The catch: I had to fly to Toronto more often. Gratefully it's such a quick flight that going once or twice a month wouldn't be too problematic and the weather is getting warmer so here's hoping to better things.

A New Year

Ringing in the New Year always sounded like there should be an elaborate party when, at the stroke of midnight, everyone would cheer "Happy New Year" and you'd see fireworks or the guy you were magically supposed to be with and this ringing in of another year would create that spark needed to get you two together. Well my life definitely doesn't play out like it does in the movies. First I flew back to Virginia New Year's Eve which didn't give me much time to scope out who was home, who was hosting a party, and who I could finagle an innovation from said party. And I was sick with a wretched cold. I wasn't in the mood to ring in anything as the thought made my ears hurt. A friend invited me along to watch the Alexandria fireworks and even though I agreed, I knew it was going to be an utter disaster as the other friend believed watching the fireworks from her work building by the White House would give us the best view. For those who don't know DC geography, all you really need to know is the White House is not near Alexandria. Oh well. Happy 2015!

Can you spot the fireworks?

On a far more optimistic note, I traveled to California to meet my new niece over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. I'm saving vacation days for an upcoming European adventure so I worked on the plane. Gratefully, the wifi network held strong even when I connected to the vpn. Oh the wonders of modern technology!

Usually when I visit family, I rotate houses to spend time with everyone, but since I was only going to be there a few days it was much easier to travel back and forth between houses. Best plan ever. I spent time playing games with kids, attending my two nephews' Eagle Court of Honor, and holding the sweetest little girl. The trip was short. My jet lag was not. But seeing family was worth it.

Can you spot the photobomber?

She's so cute!

Sisters

So glad I got to meet her

My mountains

January also had me traveling to Toronto and exploring a bit of DC in winter. All good things.

I'll Be Home for Christmas

Getting ready to fly home

Pentagon from the air

Beautiful sunset

Twas' the Night Before Christmas

And All Through the House

Christmas dinner

Christmas dinner

Relaxing together

Took some time but won this one over

Had fun doing a bit of this

And a bit of that

And got to celebrate my brother-in-law's New Year's Eve birthday

Birthday Month

Do you know what's better than having your birthday in December? Actually knowing people where I live when it's my birthday. First on the agenda: Good Eats and free food. Got a free shake for it being my birthday.

Then off to the National Christmas tree. Apparently school children decorated each individual state tree. This year Google helped coordinate all the trees so all the state trees looked the same which made it quite lackluster.

How do you spell Tennessee? (See the generic state tree?)

A real tree exists under there somewhere

The next day we capped off the night with A Muppet Christmas Carol because why not. Day two we traveled to Harper's Ferry for An Olde Tyme Christmas which I thought would be a mix of Charles Dickens + southern charm + Christmas. What it really turned out to be was Civil War 1864 "the city was under martial law" Christmas. Turned out to be pretty cool just the same.

Civil War Santa and me

Harper's Ferry

Then the next week my friend and I went to dinner at Qdoba (one of my favorite quick food places) and then to see A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre. I wasn't sure what to expect as I love Hale Center Theatre's version and I didn't want to be disappointed. Well, I wasn't. It was fantastic! I loved it! Plus the setting could not have been better.

The week after my birthday, I gathered at Arlington National Cemetery with a few of my closest friends and thousands of other people to place wreaths on the graves. What a spiritual experience as we were asked to read the name of each soldier before placing a wreath on his or her grave, one by one. This individual act reminded so much of the work we perform in the temple. Very moving!

Afterwards, we grabbed lunch together. While eating, another friend invited me to the Antietam Luminaries that night, leaving around 10pm. I had to teach a lesson the next day and already had a jam packed day so of course I said yes. Once again, my reckless care for my sleep and need to feed my adventurous spirt paid off. My birthday week was top notch!

Antietam Luminaries

Awe-inspiring

Finally, I was not going to go another Christmas without a tree. Craigslist to the rescue. I found a tree for $25 and it was the best money I spent. Merry Christmas!

Yes the tree topper is Mickey Mouse Santa hat

A friend and me at the White House right before Christmas

The Happiest Place on Earth

For the past year, I'd planned on spending my birthday at Disneyland. I love Christmas and Disney does Christmas well. One thing after another derailed those plans and I made alternate plans. During the derailing, my sister invited me to join her family the weekend before Thanksgiving, which would have been great as the last few times I've gone to Disneyland it has been with her family during the holiday season. However, flight prices during that time were astronomical. I had a small flying window as I was saving vacation days for a big trip next year and money to buy a place. Not being able to justify the cost, I declined my sister's invitation. Painful decision.

Well about two weeks before the said trip, my sister emailed me saying, "I’m just confirming that you are not coming with us to Disneyland.  I made some dining reservations, and I included you on those reservations.  I’m going to be fined if you don’t show up, so I need to either take you off the reservation, or I just need to know that you are actually coming……"

Fate had intervened. I had the thought to look at flights with my frequent flier miles and I found one that fit exactly in my flight window. After a call to my mom for a sanity check, I booked the flight. What my mom actually said to me when I asked her if I was crazy was "No more crazy than driving to Vegas for cheesecake. You should go." (Aside: my sister and I drove from Provo to Vegas once to buy my mom cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory for her birthday. This was when gas was $1.50 and Utah didn't have a Cheesecake Factory yet.)

Absolutely no regrets from this trip. We had the best time! Three of my favorite moments: watching my nephew play with his high school band along main street, being the last on Space Mountain at 12:30am and my niece pointing to the Olaf house with Elsa and Anna inside and saying, "I want to get in that line." I love Disneyland at Christmas with my family.

Thanks to her dad, she got to see Elsa and Anna.

Isn't it magical?