Sunsets...Stinky Plants and the Great Escape

The air this morning had a tinge of Autumn in it...I'm sure it's much too soon to actually think that cooler temperatures might be around the corner and considering that my weather app tells me that our upcoming weekend in DC will be accompanied by highs of 91...yes, it's much too soon.

I'm not sure why but I've spent the past week longing for Autumn. Isn't that strange? I am such a fan of the final three months of the year; I live for Halloween, pumpkins, cool breezes, scarves and boots, Thanksgiving, family time...and then...oh...then comes December. And while for some people the Christmas season proves hectic and stressful, I love it all. The parties, the events, the decorations, the carols...I love every second. 

It's only the second week of August and I'm not one to rush Father Time...so I'll wait patiently for Autumn. However, if the weather could just stay a wee bit cooler that would be perfectly fine too.

Monday Night Sunset...Take One

Monday Night Sunset...Take Two

Monday Night Sunset...Take Three

I feel like in the last week I've been to "DC" too many times...if there is such a thing! My friend and co-worker Danielle and I were granted the gift of being able to take an extended lunch break on this past Tuesday and make the drive into DC to see the Corpse Flower in bloom. We went shortly before noon and so we missed the crazy morning rush; mercifully even in downtown DC the traffic wasn't too nuts! After parking and walking the quick 0.3 miles to the US Botanic Garden, we joined the long (so long...seriously) line stretching around the building...waiting our turn to glimpse the stinky flower in bloom.

The line moved amazingly fast and within less than fifteen minutes (thank goodness - it was HOT last week) we were stepping through the doors and into the gardens. The Corpse Flower was front and center on display and was surrounded by people - naturally. I can honestly say that it didn't really smell so bad; there were only certain places that you could catch a whiff of the smell, and the smell wasn't that strong! After viewing the flower and peering at a couple other exhibits, we decided to do a quick stop off at Starbucks and then get out of town so we missed the 5 o'clock traffic! We were back at the office by 4 and I'd say the day was a wild success!

Waiting in the line wrapping around the gardens...

Just over seven feet tall...the "big stinky" in bloom!

A special delivery on Wednesday - yahoo!

Every week I write that I feel like I looked up and the week had flown past - but I guess even though that happens each week, it still always seems surprising. Is that strange? The weeknights this past week were filled with time on the elliptical, reading, watching HGTV and baseball and also packing. The packing has begun in earnest and so now Watson is living in a bit of a panic. He hates boxes and bags and anything that indicates he might be left behind...so I predict the next few weeks will be a bit more than stressful for him. Poor little guy. I guess no amount of holding his face in my hands and telling him "I will not leave you behind - you are moving with me" will really calm him down, huh?

Thursday morning nap...very important.

The strangest moth that hung out at the office for two days...

The baseball & The bobblehead!

I think I mentioned last week that I randomly entered a picture into an Instagram contest and somehow, miraculously, I won the contest! My prize was a signed baseball and it arrived (in a box address to Natzlie no less) on Thursday evening and was revealed to be signed by the Nationals general manager, Mike Rizzo. While it was a wee bit of a letdown that the baseball wasn't actually signed by a Nationals player...it is still a signed baseball and they also included a Jayson Werth bobblehead as part of the prize. So, I investigated them both, took a couple pictures to put on Instagram (of course) and then packed them up for the move. They'll both have their own place to be displayed once the move is complete.

It's definitely starting to look like a "real" & complete house.

After enjoying dinner out and a stop by the house to check on it's progress; the rest of Friday evening was spent watching the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics - which, unfortunately I have to say really kind of underwhelmed me. I also have to admit that while watching the white water rafting on Saturday morning I kept thinking "there is poop in that water...and it is splashing on your face...and in your eyes. The poop in that water...is getting on you..." I know - horrible right?

I drove into Alexandria on Saturday around lunch to meet up with some friends to do Escape Quest. I'm not sure if I'm a unique case here or if it was just the ridiculous DC traffic at play...but I used my cell phone to navigate and suffice it to say...it was a disaster! I ended up having to call my Dad to play GPS for me...and I still ended up racing into the Escape Quest right as the rest of my group was getting started! I'm sure a ton of other people use their iPhone as a GPS but I don't know that I can trust mine anymore - I've checked the setting and I cannot for the life of me figure out why my phone sends me the most indirect and complicate route possible - it's nuts!

After the Escape!

Success! With 4 minutes and 45 seconds to spare!

We solved the clue, found the idol and escaped!

Escape Quest was one of the bright spots on Saturday - after my dismal dealings with traffic. If you've note seen or heard about these activities; Escape Quest involves being locked in a room and you have to solve the clues/puzzles/challenges to escape in under an hour. The room we were in was Indiana Jones themed and even though it was only a 6/10 on the difficulty scale, we all felt sufficiently ignorant after it was all said and done...even though we did manage to escape!

After yet another crazy drive home...with assistance from Jeffrey the GPS...we went out to eat with some friends for supper and had a wonderful time and then went by Pier One and Home Depot to look at all manner of housing things before heading home. Between the crazy traffic adventures, escaping from a locked room, having to stop en route to the house for headache meds...well, in light of all that, I didn't get as much Harry Potter read on Saturday night as I'd planned because I crashed.

Why is there caution tape in the middle of my (future) living room?

It's almost done...literally one month to go...

The name of the game on Sunday...after church and getting lunch...and watching the Nationals beat the Giants...was packing! I don't have anything hanging on my walls anymore, the few books I've accumulated in the two years I've been here are in a box and the boxes are starting to pile up. I finished Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Sunday too; I was both excited and sad about that development, it's what you'd call a book hangover.

The weekend was closed out with another stop over at the house to take some measurements and watch some of the Olympic Games before hitting the hay. And now, another week has begun... Time; I tell you, it does fly.