Weigh in Wednesdays

 Last weigh in---187
 TODAY-------184
 Total                  77 lbs lost in 15 months

I'm trying something new that I'm going to write more about starting next week. I feel really good. Today a friend told me that I 'looked thin'...it's been a long time since someone has said that to me! I know, since when is 184 lbs 'thin' well....comparatively it is! I cannot believe I am almost near the 170's I am very anxious to hit those digits!!!!

Christmas Day in Washington D.C.

'If you don't put on Yo Gabba Gabba I'm going to break everything in your house'

Christmas morning we woke up to a nice big breakfast, mimosas, coffee and presents! As I said we did not buy presents this year, just a few things for our baby, so it was extra nice to have things to open as it was very unexpected. My Aunt got my daughter an outfit and some wooden toys-my favorite! Bob was so thoughtful to get for her too, a gift just from him, a ring stack toy that she loved. It was so so thoughtful that they did have things for us to open...and they were so personal. My Aunt gave me a crab key chain and a crystal kitty that had belonged to my grandma. She gave my husband some pewter tiny soldiers which had also belonged to my grandma-since Joel was in the military she thought they ought to go to him. 

If it's a crustacean, it's something I love 

My grandma's crystal kitty

feeding her reindeer breakfast

 It was a little hectic since Bob and my Aunt were going to be spending the day with Bob's family and we were heading into D.C. and they had to prepare the food they were taking to the dinner that morning so I offered to make the flower arrangements. My intention was to teach my Aunt how to make them, she takes arrangements each year that she makes but she finds them lacking and I wanted to give her a few pointers. However my daughter did not like that my attention was not on her so it was more stressful than fun but it is so nice to work with flowers-it miss it so much!
       Our first stop was Arlington Cemetery. When we walked up to the Tomb of The Unknown Soldiers they had just begun the changing of the guard-it was dead silent and I was so worried our 1 year old was going to start yelling or screaming, but God bless her heart she was perfectly quiet the entire time. Going to Arlington on Christmas Day was on of the main reasons for this trip so I'm going to write a whole blog about it, but here are some of the pics.

Our next stop was the White House, I couldn't believe how crowded it was for being Christmas day! It was decorated beautifully and it was so cool to know that the President was there-it's not like the first family is going to spend the Holidays at the in-laws house. Directly across the 'street' there was a nice display of Christmas trees decorated with ornaments made from each state, there was also a very large train display and Santa's wood shop, he was not there-he left Christmas Eve. I really wanted to go over to the Washington monument so my daughter could run all around but she was getting hungry and we needed to find a bathroom. The drawback to visiting on Christmas Day was that all the museums were closed, so that also means no bathrooms or places to eat. We got in the car and I had to nurse the little one, it was so cool to nurse directly in front of the White House with the secret service police only a few yards away.

Had to check out the Michigan tree!

Our next stop was to the capitol because I really wanted to see the National Christmas Tree. It was hard to be impressed with the 65 foot tall tree because when it was next to the enormous Capitol Building it seemed so small-but I am glad we stopped, it was right next to the US Botanic Gardens anyhow, which was not only our next stop but the ONLY museum on the mall that was open.

I was SO happy we went to the US Botanic Gardens, it was stunningly beautiful, exuded Christmas, I got some great pictures, and I LOVE flowers so it was a perfect place to be on Christmas Day, I could have spent an entire day there and if I lived in the area I would LOVE to work there!

This is the prettiest tree I have ever seen, I want a yard full of them.

She was so excited to pet this golden retriever puppy

There were are few other things I wanted to do, but it was so hard to get my baby in and out of the car seat, the stroller in and out of the trunk, there was no where to eat or go to the bathroom and it had been a very big day for already for our one year old. I thought the city looked so beautiful with all the Holiday Decorations so I took some random pics.

I peer pressured Bob into wearing a Christmas Sweater

Christmas Eve in Annapolis

            Our second day in Maryland was actually Christmas Eve. My husband always makes his traditional egg bake so this year was no different. He cooked while we all played and watched on adoringly as she removed all the food and books from their shelves. My other major concern about taking this trip was that I knew their house would not be baby proofed-and why would it be-they don't have kids!? My little one is literally into everything, it doesn't matter what or where so I was hesitant to visit them knowing how difficult it is to visit other's homes for just an hour or two. In fact we are currently taking a bit of a respite from visiting non baby proofed homes because I feel like all we're doing is 'yelling'  'don't touch that'....and by 'we' I do not mean myself I am referring to her relatives so I don't think it's a nice visit and don't see the point when people can easily come over to our home and she can run around and play as normal, there's nothing really that she is 'not allowed' to get into. So I was especially impressed that Bob, who doesn't have children went to great strains to not only baby proof the house, but he did it perfectly! I told him he should start a baby proofing company-HE THOUGHT OF EVERYTHING! It always amazes me when we visit our relatives-people who have had children AND grandchildren- the significant amount of dangerous and delicate items they leave within her reach when we visit.  (And yes, I do think that if you are going to insist on us coming over rather than visiting our home, then you should do some babyproofing.)
            This is parachute string he used to close everything up-Bob informed me that "YOU JUST CANNOT FIND PARACHUTE STRING IN THE STORES LIKE YOU USED TO". Bob is one of my most favorite people to quote-he is dead serious when he says things like this and I just find them hysterical!

After breakfast and after a little more playing we headed out for Annapolis which is a town I just adore! It is so clean, so quaint, and so lovely. We walked around for a bit or rather we chased we chased our little girl while she chased after all the puppies she saw. I wanted to do a little shopping but that turned out to be too difficult to keep her out of things- although I did find an amazing little store called Abby Bay that makes these very unique wooden maps, I encourage you to look at the website I think these maps would make the best gifts!
 

 For lunch I really wanted to eat at Ram's Head Tavern reason being, the time I went to Annapolis with my girlfriends over Easter and I had met a very charming sailor from New Orleans, he took me to this restaurant on Easter morning for breakfast. I found it so enchanting that I was celebrating Easter with this person I had met just hours before in the street after we all left the bar. I remembered how much I liked the restaurant and made it my goal to dine at the obscure, little restaurant in Annapolis Maryland on each major holiday so I have now been there on Easter Sunday and Christmas Eve! The restaurant itself is so captivating, the floors are brick, there are several rooms- it seems to go on forever, the decor is unique but in an elegantly comical way and the food is incredible, I had the crab melt and it was the best meal I have had since I went to Hawaii in 2009.

Rams Head Tavern

LOVE my baby hugs

Carnation in one hand, pickle in the other, what more could a girl want

Bob and my traditional serious pose

After Rams Head I just had to go to Acme, a place where I spent one of the most memorable nights of my life so as a thank you I always make sure to patron this bar. Considering it was Christmas Eve I did not expect it to be so lively but people were drinking heavily, the music was loud and I got to watch a fascinating gentleman fondle himself multiple times-it was everything I could have hoped for and more. My daughter also made a friend, a sweet little girl sitting right behind us, it was so cute to watch the two interact. 

We headed home while I tried to decide if I was going to go to the Christmas Eve service at my favorite church the Patuxent United Methodist Church-this is the gospel church I went to a few years ago and loved-I will write a post just about this experience. I didn't want to leave my little girly as I knew I'd be gone a few hours and wouldn't be able to get her to sleep on Christmas Eve but I'm not often in Maryland and didn't want to pass on the opportunity. The service did not last as long as I had expected, I was prepared for it to last 3 hours like it did last time but much to my dismay it was only 1 hour although I had arrive an hour early because I was misinformed. I was very disappointed when I arrived home to find that she was already asleep. But I was so glad I went to that service, and I know it seems strange but I really enjoy going to church alone, especially now since I feel frazzled and busy most of the time- it's so nice to just be able to sit and take it all in.