Home again, naturally

Oh Washington DC, so we meet again. This last month went by faster than I expected (especially with all the drama near the beginning, including Moxie and her unconscious bowel movements), but we survived and had a great time. Some high points included:

Visiting Pleasure Point (above) every morning and sometimes at sunset. No this isn't some secluded cliff where high schoolers go to make out in parked cars, it's a favorite local spot that bodes well for enjoying takeout nachos. I miss it already.

Though Avatar was not a high point, wearing the gauche 3D glasses was. They were very Brad Goranski from The Rachel Zoe Project, which was fine with me.

New Year's Eve, though spent without J, was still fun. I loved seeing my whole family together again and, of course, always look forward to spending quality time with my brother and sister (above).

Descriptions of the MIL's place only go so far, so I waited till she was out "peeping the pots" (what she calls taking Lola out for a bathroom break) so I could snap a few pictures of the surroundings:

World ... meet the maraca gourd painted to look like a duck.

The backyard labyrinth.

The MIL's work area.

The bathroom faucet I brushed my teeth at every morning and night. I admit that nude drawing threw me for a loop in the beginning but it began growing on me as time went on. Love & gratitude?

Oh and for anyone interested in her special female coloring book I mentioned a couple posts ago, I found out you can by it here. With these drawings you should have no problem coloring within the, uh, lines. Moving on...

The next time I'll be jetting off driving to sunnier skies will be the end of May when J graduates. After graduation J and I plan to pack Lola, a tent and a 5-gallon polyurethane shower bag into our little Hyundai to drive cross-country for about two weeks, camping in national parks like Badlands and Yellowstone along the way. (For being such an urban dweller I cannot wait to embark on such an Easy Rider adventure. Squeeee!)

In the meantime reality calls, and reality is expensive.

The 12-month lease on our apartment is up at the beginning of February; signing on for four more months (to carry us till J graduates and we ship out) would bump our rent up to about $1,700, not including utilities. Highway robbery, I say, for a one-bedroom apartment a mile away from the nearest metro stop. So we found a studio up in Silver Spring, Maryland for only $1,000/month and (*breathes heavily into paper bag*) we're canceling our cable TV for our remaining 4 months on the east coast. I can find most of my shows for free online, but Tony Bourdain -- I will have to buy you on iTunes. A sacrifice I'm willing to make. But only for you.

Anyway I haven't started packing yet and have only two weeks to be out of here. Though stressed I'm thankful that by moving (even for such a short time) we'll be able to save about $600 per month. I tend to hang on to everything -- from empty shoe boxes to unread pamphlets -- so filtering out the trash, packing up and cleaning will take up the rest of my month. Joy.

On a final note I got to meet the lovely Carolyn from Hang on Little Tomato for the first time on Saturday morning.

She shut it down in this leopard coat. I die. And I want one.

Carolyn is a fashionable attorney from Austin who I met through blogging and we couldn't be more alike. Reading her blog I was convinced we'd mesh and I was right. From our obsessive natures (e.g., listening to one song on repeat for weeks) to our love of the Kardashian sisters and online makeup tutorials, it felt like I was hanging out with an old friend. I hope I get to meet others soon!