How I spent my first Christmas away from home.

I just want to start off by saying that driving all by my lonesome for 4 hours makes me a little goofy. That said, look what Mary and I did on Saturday night when I got into Provo.

We took a little walk outside, but it was so cold we had to utilize all of our coats. Mine actually buttons to the top like that. Now that is some kind of popped collar.

When we got inside, Mary's friend Mattie offered us Hot Chocolate and Marshmallow (singular). Mary fit two into her cup, but I didn't want to risk getting my cocoa dammed up.

We didn't want to go outside again to find real dinner so we ordered Chinese. That's right, we made someone else go outside for us. But it was worth it just for this . . .

After we three English Majors had a really good laugh, and cry (tears of joy that is), we opened our fortunes. The extra one, which I assumed was for all of us, said, "Watching a movie would be a good way to spend the evening." How could we resist, especially with The Alligator People so close by. Just kidding we watched Oceans 13.

Mary and I dropped Mattie off at the airport Christmas Eve. On Christmas day, we shoveled some snow and took some pictures. I've never been bold enough to throw a snowball at an unsuspecting person, but I just couldn't resist this time. Yep, that's me winding up. I think it helped my pluck knowing that Mary and I would shortly be getting our backsides completely snow covered as we made angels.


There it is, my first White Christmas. It had to be away from home. I didn't hear any sleigh bells, but somehow Santa found me just the same.

Oh Canada!

I spent the better part of last week in Edmonton, Alberta Canada at a Library conference. It's the second time I've been to Canada, but the first time I've been to Alberta. I and a few of my coworkers flew in Tuesday night. Wednesday, we presented a mini conference about personality conflicts and generational differences in the work place. (If any one needs URLs for personality tests, I have all the good ones.) Then we went shopping at the biggest mall in this hemisphere. You can go to the doctor, get groceries, get your oil changed, and get married in this mall. And please let's not forget the roller coaster, ice rink, and giant whale statue you will see along the way.
Friday I got to go to the Edmonton temple. By Saturday I was finished with librarians and ready to come home. But I will always keep a piece of Canada with me.

Because you need to know how to ask for the restroom in all languages - especially Canadian, Eh!

Don't Look Down: exclusive view of the Library of Congrass

I hope you all get to go to the Library of Congress some day. I know you will see a lot of wonderful and awe inspiring things there. I also home that you look up at the sealing and don't spend a lot of time staring at your feet. For this reason, I've helped you out by taking pictures of the tiles in the floor of this beautiful building. Consider yourself one step ahead of the game.

D.C.: The tour not everyone gets.

Here are some things that caught my eye while I was at our nation's capital.
This is me in front of the White House. It was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. In case you were wondering, the West Wing is not in the White House. It's in the next building over.

I saw this sign on the way to the World Bank and thought that Mom might like it. I thought that Mom might actually be a certified federal thrift supervisor.

I could not resist finding myself in the capital. This is the street directly across the street from the White House.

The D.C. Temple is a little off the beaten path, but I found a way to it with a little bit of help from a good friend. Unlike the White House, this house is MUCH larger than I expected.

And how could I go to the thick of political rebuttal without finding our two main party symbols. Pick a side 2008 is an election year you know.

D.C. at a Sprint

So, I flew into Washington D.C. Wednesday night last week, took a small breather and then went to dinner and to the White House. My hotel is at 1500 Pennsylvanian Ave, just one block from the President. Thursday, I woke up early for a conference at the World Bank. International Government Organizations are so interesting. Then Friday, the touring really began. Friday morning, I saw the Washington D.C. Temple, the Washington Monument but I didn't go to the top, and the Jefferson Memorial. Then the National World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial that night. I almost made it the the capital, but got tired and went for Italian instead. Apparently, all of these things together sit in "The National Mall." I went to the mall but didn't buy anything. I did come away with some good pictures though. They will come soon.
Saturday, I learned all about national support groups for Children's Librarians. I met some friends for snow cones outside the National Museum of Natural History and saw the United States depicted in legos.
Sunday, I went to church in Alexandria and walked the Potomac water front.
Monday, I met Kate DeCamillo. I shook her hand. I saw Julie Andrew from a fourth row seat, and I ate a tuna sandwich that was good, but way too big for a tuna sandwich. I'm going to have to give it some time before I eat anything tuna again. Monday night, I went to the Spy Museum. I was the history of spies from the earliest parts of history until the cold war.
Today, Tuesday, I started out the day listening to a wonderful invitation from Garrison Keillor to help keep libraries refuges from the outside world where books are authorities, and our children will have the freedom of escaping from social pressures and studying whatever they would like. In one word, he was charming. After some breakfast, I went for a tour of the Library of Congress. I was excited to see the books, and saw much much more than that. The craftsmanship in that building is amazing. I liked the floors especially.
I came back to the hotel after that and took a 2 hour nap. D.C. is exhausting!