Insert Witty Title Here

I'm so exhausted from working all week that I kind of just want to post a bunch of pictures of what I did this weekend and call it a night but I owe to you all to keep you updated so here's the gist.
My bestie Kosha came to visit last weekend. Almost a week ago I was too excited to sleep because I was going to get her the next morning. And it was totally worth it. We mostly sat around catching up for the better part of Friday, after I fetched her from the airport and had breakfast with her and my cousins of course. I took her to see my beautiful new campus/work environment and we reminisced about our time together in college.

Friday night, we went to the theater and saw "Lucy", although we had to get tickets for the next showing because ours was sold out. The paramedics had to be called in the middle of the movie...which we're still not sure what happened just that someone shouted to call 9-1-1 and then a bunch of people started running like mad. Oh, and there was this super rude pregnant lady who assumed that we would move down a seat so she and her husband could sit together and didn't even ask, just sort of gestured. Kosha immediately got up to move and I just sat there hoping for some common courtesy that never came...seriously, I get that you feel entitled because you are pregnant but ask me nicely and I will probably do what you want, don't and you will get bitch face by my Catholic upbringing will prevent me from being exceedingly rude or making a scene. We got there 35 minutes before the movie time and got the perfect middle of the back row seats and you just expect me to give that up because you come over and say "my husband and I were hoping to sit together". Don't guilt trip me! Ask me, damnit. (Okay, rant over). The movie itself was confusing and action-packed. I think I give it 3 stars. Full review is in the link.

Saturday, Kosha and I went into D.C., of course and saw the Washington Monument (which you apparently have to line up for tickets at 7am for), the Lincoln Memorial and reflecting pool (which was now filled with water since the last time I went!), the WWII Memorial, all of which we walked to, totally about 15,000 steps for the day. Then we had a nice lunch at the Museum of Natural History before wandering around that for a few hours. I really loved catching up on the history that I've seen before. I always learn something new when I go because you can never retain it all. But as usual, the animals were kind of creepy but cute and needed a good dusting. By 5pm, we were beat and ready to head back home. So we did. After relaxing for a couple of hours, we were hungry again and decided to hit up TGIFriday's where I found the most delicious Patron Cosmo...man I could drink those things daily. Although I probably shouldn't. Oh, and Kosha was drinking. (That's right, be jealous, Casey.) After dinner, we retired back to the house where we watched "Sydney White" on the massive entertainment center downstairs and sipped on some ice cold hard cider. A great end to a great day.
Sunday, however turned out to not be so great because I am a dummy and didn't know that the Library of Congress isn't open on Sundays. So much for my stalking abilities...
However, we made do and headed over the Air & Space Museum which is always a treat. There are lots of big planes and attractions. Plus a new exhibit showcasing a bunch of photographs from the Mars Rover!! It was really amazing to see that. Oh, and as were were headed out, a storm was rolling into the city so I managed to get some pretty badass pics. And one lone shoe, abandoned by a child, so sad.
We also stopped by the fountain in the sculpture garden and watched the plumes of water ebb and flow, high and low, and cool off a bit. Apparently, it's a very popular activity seeing as the entire rim of the pool was surrounded by people. Fountains, I've learned are a very big deal in this state. There is one on campus that people swim in and several in DC that you are allowed to touch. Fascinating. I wonder why we don't do this in the north.
But, I digress. After returning from our second day in DC, we didn't really do much of anything except make bomb nachos and watch "Date Night" (because who doesn't love Tina Fey?). And the next morning, I drove her to the airport and said our goodbyes. Then I managed to make it to work only 5 minutes late (massive traffic on 95, sheesh)! However, unlucky for Kosha, her flight didn't end up leaving until after 12:30pm. So sorry! Thunderstorms in Boston kept her flight grounded for several hours but she eventually made it out and safely home.
Nothing much has happened this week except that I am covering for the other GA while she is on vacation in Colorado so I am working full shifts all day every day. And thankful that tomorrow is Friday AND pay day. BOOM! Then I will have less than 24 hours to clean and make sure the house is in tip top shape since I am apparently a poor housekeeper on a day-to-day basis. Oh, well. We all have flaws.

What I'm reading: Capture The Flag by Kate Messner
Progress: two-thirds-ish
Thoughts so far: Amazing! Vastly entertaining. Harry Potter references, relatable characters, and Riordan-like set up. If I didn't have to sleep, I probably would finish it tonight.

Lose Some, Win Some

Living with a Girl Scout does have some benefits, other than cookies, it turns out. My cousin has to do several summer activities to earn points and patches and I'm actually allowed to participate in some (mostly all)! First she made me an array of s'mores, which unfortunately I was too busy eating to take pictures of and they were so worth it. We even came up with a new one involving Nilla wafers and toffee chocolate! Plus that was how we discovered that Nilla wafers and Nutella are an amazing combinations worthy of several taste bud orgasms.

Then my fairy godmother was kind enough to take us all mini-golfing so that my cousin could earn points for participating in the world's longest mini-golf hole (there was some debate about whether or not this was actually the world's longest mini-golf hole, despite the sign). There was minimal complaining or whining, despite the humidity and the wait of a few minutes at a couple of the holes. Side note: it really irritates me when people just jump to the next hole or three ahead just because they don't want to wait for others to finish. How is that even a thing? Talk about rude. But I digress.
The moral of the story, if you didn't see my Facebook status, is that you shouldn't play mini-golf against 10 year olds because they are surprisingly good at it and in fact my cousin and her classmate both scored holes in one before I did. Not cool. But that's just my competitive nature speaking. Although we never added up the scores to see who actually won...

After mini-golf (and ice cream, of course!) we went back to the house to relax for a bit. We enjoyed a nice Saturday dinner that I took the task of making while the others went to church. And then began the weekly tradition of adult beverages. This time, we ate and drank and then decided to play a game of "Around the World". For those of you unfamiliar, it's a basketball where you take a series of shots from various points around the paint. If you make it, you move on to the next shot. If you miss, you have to wait until or next turn or "chance it" and risk having start all over if you miss it. The first one to make it all the way around and back is the winner. And I think this was the longest game of "Around the World" that I have ever played, which my aunt barely won over me. It almost rivaled the UNO game that my family played a few years back where one hand lasted almost an hour! Seriously...only in my house would that be possible. By that time, all of us were hot and sweaty and decided it would be a good time for a swim! So we meandered over to my uncle's brother's house to jump in the pool. After changing into our suits of course :) Unfortunately for me, it's a heated pool which means for my New Englander body, it felt a little too hot for my taste but it was nice to swim around and wash off that sweaty mess that I had been.

The most recent Girl Scout event that I was privileged enough to participate in was a watermelon seed spitting contest! Oh, boy! My cousin and I drew up a "board" to play on and it was awesome. My mom sent chalk for us to play with (and yes, I still get the occasional care package, don't be jealous) and we put it to good use. We created point zones and a scoreboard and of course had my aunt bring the watermelon. And ironically it was the three girls in the house who participated in this fun. Sometimes it pays to not have to be lady-like. We took turns spitting the seeds as far as we good and half the length of the deck was apparently not quite as much of a challenge as we expected. The endzone was worth 100 bonus points and my aunt managed to achieve that multiple times. When I told my mom, she said it was because they had to find some way to entertain themselves as kids or be given chores. It was definitely all fun and games but there was nearly a 300 point gap between my aunt and me which was a devastating blow to my ego. Although it didn't hurt nearly as bad as being told that Maple Walnut ice cream might be a New England thing - GASP!

Summer fun is definitely worth having a little break before school. I love being outdoors. City life was nice but being able to sit outside and feel the sunshine and enjoy the semi-quiet that comes with living in the suburbs is nice. Even the birds haven't managed to annoy me, yet. The frogs on the other hand are quite loud. But that's okay. Nature is soothing for my soul. So I soak in as much as possible when I'm not working. Which is pretty often these days. But I do have to be up at 6:30 for the next two days and I still have plenty of reading to do before I go to sleep so away I go. Check out Facebook for new pictures.

Those Summer Nights

Every day is a new adventure and a journey. I have learned some new things about myself and confirmed other beliefs that I held. This change so far has been good for me and I hope it continues to be that way. The almost nightly thunderstorms do much to improve my views on the southern summer. The humidity is mostly awful and the heat isn't much better. But there are some rare instances that I don't mind it. Sunshine can be good for the soul. Plus my family isn't opposed to ice cream and fudgsicles.

Not much to update you all on. I've pretty much just been working and reading since the 4th of July weekend. The office has been pretty slow but I really love the students and advisors that I am privileged to work with. Everyone has been so nice and understanding when I ask questions or need help. Not that we have had many issues arise yet. Plus I am able to wear almost anything I want, within reason, so I still get to stretch my fashionista/maxxinista wings at work. Even if everyone else is much more casual, there is something comforting about being able to "dress up" to go to work. Plus it is way too damn hot to wear jeans and you know how I feel about short shorts. I may be the only one in a skirt but I make it look damn good.

The nights are pretty much filled with books, as they always are. I have exceeded the halfway point of my goal to read 100 new books this year by achieving 52 books a couple of days ago. I'm going to try and cram another 20 in before the end of the summer so when it's time to do my schoolwork, I will actually do that instead of being caught up in the another book. I have reread a couple of favorites so if I have to alter my goal slightly to achieve 100 books instead of new books then I suppose I will. Especially since I feel the urge to reread the Harry Potter books, something I haven't done since I was in Ireland.

I was privileged to sit around a campfire this weekend, an opportunity for which I am always grateful. The summer smell of the trees and the moon peeking out always soothe me. Plus having a glass of sangria never hurts ;)

Also I have a friend coming to visit at the end of the month! I can't wait to see her. And I've picked a time to go back home and see my family. Keep your eyes on Facebook for more information.

What I'm reading: Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
Progress: almost a third of the way thru
Thoughts so far: My abs hurt from laughing so hard. I may need to stop reading it at work. Sedaris talks about different holiday events and his humorous prose continues to keep me in stitches. (You may know this author's name from the book "Exploring Diabetes with Owls".)

Independence in the Capitol

What an interesting couple of weeks I've had. Well, not really but enough to share at least. My new job is

progressing really well and I now have a set schedule that will last me through the rest of the summer. I must say that being a salaried employee kind of rocks in some ways. Of course, I'm still learning the ropes (and my undergrad student employees' names) but it's all coming together. I also picked up the paperwork for my
TA position at the beautiful McKeldin library on campus. Plus the overload form that I still need to have an advisor sign. I also took a lovely picture with Testudo in the hopes that he will bring me luck in the coming year. And for those of you who aren't aware, Testudo is the UMD Terrapin. During the school year, students leave offerings all around the statues of him that are scattered across campus. Not sure if it works but I'm willing to give it a try! I was on campus for the Big 10 celebration but unfortunately, it was about 95 degrees outside so I didn't stick around long enough to have ice cream or get a tee shirt. I was basically a Kat puddle by the time I made it into work. I am exceedingly grateful for the central air systems in all the buildings (and especially my bedroom) down here. And one of the student workers also told me that swimming in the fountain on the mall on campus is totally allowed, they apparently clean and treat the water regularly! Good to know in case I ever get desperate for a cooling off!

My lovely cousins have also been driving me a little nuts with all of their cooped up energy during the day so I created/used some activities for us to all work out together and get their butts off the couches for an hour or so. Instead of just sprinting or biking or jogging, I had them do a couple of team building, shooting, passing, and running drills that made it more interactive and fun. They seemed to really enjoy it, so I told them that we will make it a regular thing on the days I'm not working. Healthy and fit, I'm loving it! Oh, and I should probably mention that I did bribe them with smoothies, contingent upon them not complaining about any of the physical activities they had to do. And it totally worked ;)
Today, I went into DC to witness my first ever Independence Day celebration in the capitol and was quickly overrun by the sheer number of people in the city with me. Needless to say, I was a little perturbed. Crowds and I do not mix well. That is not to say that I can't navigate them but they irritate me and I don't like to. The sidewalk up and down Constitution Ave must have been 5 people at least for the entire route. After about 15 minutes of attempted to watch the parade, I decide that I don't like parades enough to stand there in 80 degree sun surrounded by strangers for another hour. Instead, I went exploring and took some beautiful pictures of a city that I haven't seen in a couple years. It is still as beautiful and artistic as ever. If I could build a house in the middle of the National Mall and live there, I would. Surrounded by all the knowledge and learning, I would be very happy indeed!


In my wanderings, I had the opportunity to see some of the museums, well I didn't actually go in, but I walked around and took a bunch of pictures. I was fortunate enough to see the new fountain outside the National Gallery of Art (which is a lesser version of the one outside the Louvre) and the spectacular display outside the Newseum of newspapers from around the world that their staff apparently prints off every morning! It was hot but breezy so I didn't stay more than a couple of hours. I also spent some time on a bench in the shade just people watching. And seeing as it was a rather large, I shared it with a family that happened to need a cool place to sit and picnic. Shout out to the Underwoods from Missouri! You all were so nice and friendly. I like when that happens. Although it did serve to make me a little homesick, but that's okay. Family vacations in the summer is what my childhood was all about and I love to see that people are still making the trip to our beautiful capitol to appreciate the wonder of it.

What I'm reading: Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
Progress: About halfway (I feel like I say that a lot)
Thoughts so far: What a complex puzzle! I am loving the mystery of this entangled plot! Stopped time, a paradise that isn't what it seems to be, and characters that you can't trust. The twists and turns are keeping me enthralled. Keep it coming.