Adopting in Ashburn

Tonight I watched Shenandoah with Jimmy Stewart. I do not mean that he was sitting here with me - though that would have been interesting - no he played Charlie Anderson. I was expecting the musical (which I know all the words to) but instead got a dramatic interpretation. It was fun to hear a few of the key lyrics thrown in there and I do love the song "Shenandoah", which is lucky really, since it was basically the only background music to the whole movie. I would definitely recommend it, since it is an interesting representation of the Civil War. The Anderson family tries to avoid getting involved in the war and without ever choosing a side they still wind up loosing family members. Definitely check it out. I got a bunch of other movies at the library tonight, expecting that my planned New Years Extravaganza wasn't going to actually happen. I picked up Damn Yankees , since I'll be stage managing that show in February and have never seen it. I also got An Am...

...and four sleeps until I'm home (to the tune of a holiday song!). Yesterday I went for the second time this season to see the National Christmas Tree. This time I went with Katie and Patrick starting in the afternoon. We walked from the White House down to the Mall. We stopped to check out the Smithsonian outdoor skating rink (cannot WAIT to do that later this winter). We walked into the National Gallery to see the Christmas decorations (really beautiful), then quickly strolled through the Turner and Hopper exhibits. Back out in the cold, we went to see the Botanical Gardens "Mall" exhibit with mostly natural constructed models of important buildings in DC. They also have this amazing model train set-up outside. If you're local, definitely put the Gardens on your to-do list of things to see. Then we wandered down to the Capitol Christmas tree - which was about 900 times better than the one pictured above (but Katie has the picture of that one). From there we s...

So this week my life has reflected at least three Jimmy Stewart movies. First, I got to go to a meeting in the Capitol Building. Somehow, I had never even been inside for a tour, so I was thrilled about the clicking of my heels down those hallowed, marble halls. The briefing I attended (on the HIV/AIDS epidemic) was in a room directly below the House chamber. I don't care how geeky it is, I love that Capra-esque feeling I get when I pass any of the major monuments in DC. My stomach flips and I get all jumpy and hyper ... I've lived in this city for more than a year and I still break out in a huge smile when the tip of the Washington Monument appears around a bend in the road. So, as you can now imagine, I was feeling pretty good after the briefing! And for those who aren't sure, this is reminiscent of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington . Next movie experience: feeling a bit out of myself. Not really alot of explanation for this except to say that it wasn't quite Harvey ...