Amber & Merry Michael's Visit!

I was very lucky to have two great friends come into town and visit me this weekend! Amber & Merry Michael flew in Friday and stayed until today, Monday. We had loads of fun! Friday we went to the National Mall area and walked from the Monuments to the White House. We even managed to have a great jumping picture by the Reflecting Pool, where Amber literally lost her shoes! She stalled hoping the man who took our picture would get them, but nope, he wasn't going in. She had to roll up her pants & get in. It made for a great DC memory! Saturday I had class, so they went to the Holocaust Museum & Smithsonian American Art Museum. Saturday night we went to dinner with some of my new, random DC friends, Jack & Andy. I met Jack on the flight from DC to Birmingham last weekend and Andy went to college with a girl I met in Boston through Readak. They were great fun - we all had a wonderful time. We ate & went out in Georgetown. Sunday we ventured to VA Wine Country. It was a beautiful day and was so much fun. Despite having my string of bad luck this weekend with my car, it was totally redeemed with the company of my bestest buds from Birmingham. You can also see in the pictures how fall is really here in DC. We all about froze this weekend - the high was in the low 60s each day. Amber & MM - thanks for coming! xoxoxo!


Us from Lincoln Monument with Washington behind us.


The big jump! Look for Amber's shoes falling...


Hahahahahahaha...


Reflecting Pool with Lincoln Monument behind us. Amber, me, Memi.


Rolling down the hill from Washington Monument.


Amber & I @ Washington Monument.


Hillsboro Vineyard.


And...another jumping pic! Tarara Vineyards.

Happy Columbus Day!

Kelly & I explored the city on Monday due to us both being off. We went to three musuems: African Art Musuem, Asian Museum and Japanese Museum. I must say, all three were very interesting. The Smithsonian has some 18 different museums in DC. The great thing about them - all free! Here are a few pictures from my weekend in Atlanta (Tonya & Chad's wedding) and DC.

Tonya & I at her Atlanta Wedding!


John & I at Atlanta Aquarium.


Garden area behind Smithsonian Castle. It's truly beautiful back there!


Kelly & I at Smithsonian Castle.

Fall is here!

This weekend Kelly had a huge wedding to attend Saturday night, so I got to meet a lot of her college friends & even see some old friends from Birmingham - Lauren & Ryan! Lauren's brother was the one getting married. Thursday night we all went out to Arlington to watch the debate. The rest of the weekend I went into the city to visit a few museums. I went to the Georgia O'Keefe/Ansel Adams exhibit at the Smithsonian American Museum of Art on Saturday. It was great! I then made my way to Dupont Circle and bought a cupcake from Hello Cupcake & sat on a bench & people watched. I even took the book I'm currently reading & sat & read it for a while. There was too much going on - I was easily distracted. I returned downtown on Sunday afternoon to visit the Holocaust Museum. I must say, it was one of the most emotional places I've ever been. It was unreal - the pictures, videos, testimonals, things I saw there will haunt me the rest of my life. It was disturbing, disgusting, sickening, enlightening, and very sad. People were sobbing as they were walking through the halls. I'm glad I went. It was an awakening experience. After the museum I strolled through the National Mall and sat on the steps of an art gallery & ate my first Italian sausage hot dog.

Fall is really showing itself in DC! The leaves are changing & it's beautiful. I will post more pictures of that as I get more pictures!

Smithsonian American Museum of Art


Hello Cupcake! in Dupont Circle - aren't they cute? Who could hate cupcakes? Urban Standard's are still better than these.


Dupont Circle


National Mall area

Weekend Recap

John came to visit me this past weekend. We had a grand ole time! Saturday we went to the Spy Museum. Saturday night we went downtown for dinner at a nice little Italian place, then on to the Mad Hatter. It was a fun night! Sunday we went to Georgetown then went to the movies. Monday we visited Ole Town Alexandria, then I took him to the airport & said goodbye. We saw a lot of things and had great fun, I wish the weekend had lasted longer.

As for my classes, they are going fine. I have a total of 27 students divided into four classes. It's hard to believe my first assignment is almost over! It ends a week from this Thursday. I will then fly out Friday to attend Tonya's wedding in ATL! When I return, I have Monday off (yah for Columbus Day & school is out), and then I start at my second school.

I hope everyone is well in the lovely Magic City!

Here's a picture from the weekend!

Arlington National Cemetary

I decided to hop on the Metro this afternon & venture out to Arlington Cemetary. From the second you enter the gates you know you are somewhere sacred. They have little white tombstones everywhere. I always thought they were just unmarked, but they have the names and dates on them of the fallen solider. Some even have the names of their wives on the back. It was a very touching experience. You could tell everyone walked through it the same way I was - in awe - in silence. I got to the Tomb of the Unknown Solider just in time for the changing of the guards. That was so interesting to see! Everyone was seated on the steps in utter silence. Even when the change had taken place and the new solider was marching in front, people started to whisper, talk, and he turned directly towards us and said "Please keep silent in memory of those who have fought for our country." It caught everyone's attention & everyone shut up. It was a beautiful day to go out there. It was a moving experience. For those of you who love wiki facts - here's a quick link to learn more about ANC. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_National_Cemetary



The view from the top!


The Tomb of the Unknown Solider.


Changing of the guards @ the Tomb of the Unknowns.

JFK's grave.


Jackie O's gravesite, buried by JFK. Eternal flame burning.

6am on a Saturday! Ugggg!

My alarm came early today! 6:05am on a SATURDAY! Yes, I have a four hour class on Saturdays - the good thing is it only meets three times & it's done! Today was my first "real" class. I had seven students - six boys and one girl. As I went around the room asking them all why they were taking Readak they all said the same thing, "My parents are making me." They loved being in class at 8am on a Saturday, let me tell you. Anyway, it did go by very quickly and they were all very receptive. They are sweethearts - they all mentioned they are excited to take this & hope it helps them. It touched my heart. I know that sounds silly, but I never imagined being a teacher before. It is great to know I could actually help these kids be better students. Also, it's still sooooo odd to hear them call me "Miss Hartman."

I know some of you want pictures of me lounging in the teacher's lounge - consider it in the works. I may see what I can do. :)

I am going to attempt a walking tour of the city tomorrow. I say "attempt" because my car's stupid check engine light came on. We'll see how far I can get.

That's all I got. Good night!

Old Town Alexandria

Wednesday my bossman, Gerry, came in from Boston to check in on me & the school I am at now. He took me to Old Town Alexandria to eat. I LOVED Old Town! It was beautiful. We walked down the same cobblestone roads that George Washington & Robert E. Lee skipped down. For all of those waiting for my wikipedia facts, you'll find a picture of a sign that tells of the history of Old Town. Enjoy.


Look who was in Alexandria!


And look who else!