Public Transportation

    As you can probably guess, PDub and I are not accustomed to public transportation.  We grew up in a town where public transportation was non-existent.  In Houston, although public transportation was present, it was easier to drive everywhere.  Our new home in Arlington is three blocks from two different metro stops, so it was necessary that we become acclimated to public transportation.

 
    My first experience with the metro in D.C. took place approximately two years ago with two of my close friends.  We descended into the tunnel where you could buy your pass (a card that you put money onto), walk through the gates, and (hopefully) choose your correct train.  The three of us purchased our passes and proceeded to the gate.  The kicker: only one of us had ever used this system before, and of course, that person shot right through the gate and out of vision.  The other two of us inserted our tickets, surveyed the unopened gate, and helplessly looked at each other.  Luckily, a not-so-polite business woman (that I still picture as twice my size) said, "You gotta take your ticket."  We took our ticket, and go figure, the gates opened.

 
    Now PDub's first experience was a little different than mine, as his always are.  PDub first visited D.C. with his family when he was in the fourth grade, and his sister was in the seventh grade.  Their problem wasn't getting through the gates, but instead, determining which train to get on.  Being the confident young woman she was (and is), Doubles Shark-Whisperer quickly found the correct train, grabbed PDub's hand, and jumped on it leaving their parents behind.  To this day, I still picture the kids staring out the train window waving goodbye as their parents still debate over the accurate train.  As you can probably guess, PDub and his sister were located and rejoined with their parents.

    I recently took the metro for the first time by myself.  Destination: Reagan National Airport.  Time: Rush Hour.  After my first lesson with tickets and carefully planning out my trip, I breezed right through the gates and found my train.  However, this train was packed full, but this did not stop me from getting on it (I had a flight to make).  I had to stand, hold onto my carry-on (preventing it from falling on people's feet), and grip onto the bar above.  All while every portion of my body touched something/somebody else (I'd rather not think about it), and at each stop, even more people joined.  I probably should have stretched before this trip because I am a little too short to reach the bar above and my luggage was a bit heavy.  I most likely pulled something in my back after the ride, seeing that it hurt for a couple of days after.  This experience has confirmed that I'm a bit of a germaphobe and a little claustrophobic.  The metro is very convenient; however, avoiding it at rush hour is best...Lesson learned.

Our Little Wiener

    I must introduce you to our little wiener....Maya.  She is our 2 year old, mini dachshund who has given us a glimpse into parenthood.  Maya is your typical dachshund; she sits, shakes, rolls, fetches, barks at nothing, and eats everything, and we can't get enough of her.

    Our country girl wasn't made for the city, and therefore, moving has been pretty stressful.  She has gone from a huge house with a large back yard to a tiny apartment with no yard at all.  We have basically had to potty train the girl again.  She has already graced two hallways and one crosswalk with a little bit of herself.  The crosswalk wasn't too pretty, seeing we were trying to dodge Virginia drivers (another story).  Also, Maya has had to get used to seeing other dogs and people, nearly all the time.  The girl shivers with anxiety when met with another dog.  Let's just say the dog park wasn't as exciting for her as we wanted it to be.

A country dog bathroom...

A city dog bathroom...    

    Other parts of Maya have remained the same.  She still has three stages of sleep (increasing with the depth of sleep).  She also still barks at anything, already getting us one noise complaint.  No worries though, she's told every time that she begins to bark that the whole family gets in trouble for it.  After a couple of weeks, she began her daily run around the apartment ("I just felt like runnin'"-Forrest Gump).  Eventually, Maya will become a city girl; it's just going to have to take some adjusting...and most likely more treats.

Sleep Stage I - Legs extended, on belly

Sleep Stage II - On her side...usually occurring with a "tree falling" sound

Sleep Stage III - Belly up...very proper, Momma taught her well

Gotta look cool when moving to a new place

Making New Friends

"Best friends are those who, when you show up at their door with a dead body, say nothing, grab a shovel, and follow you." -Unknown Author

    Well, PDub and I are officially settled in; all of the boxes are unpacked, and the pictures are hung.  The next thing on our list is to make friends.  Our best friends are hundreds of miles away, and typically dead bodies need a good burying before that length of time (not that I would know).  For our game plan, we selected this Memorial Day weekend.  Here, I must take a time-out for a tribute to our troops and what better way to do this than with the use of  Zac Brown Band:

Salute the ones who died
The ones that give their lives
So we don't have to sacrifice
All the things we love....
Like our chicken fried, cold beer, jeans that fit just right, and yes, the radio up!

    On this weekend, our pool opened for the first time this season (of course, I started working out three days prior to this, gotta get that beach body!).  We expected to see and meet plenty of new faces, or at least, that's what we thought.  We are pretty introverted individuals which handicapped our friend-making skills.  Saturday morning, I refrained from being the first one in the pool this season and allowed the youngsters a go at it instead (really PDub wouldn't let me).  We eventually made our way to the pool for a little Vitamin D and some water immersion.  As I watched the kids dive down for their sticks, I couldn't help but reminisce.
    I'm sure most can attest to this but especially my childhood friends.  Nearly everyday of the summer, we were at the country club pool playing gutter ball, underwater tag, and sharks and minnows.  It didn't matter what school or town you came from, you were immediately accepted into this group and close relationships were made.  Even at break time, the clubhouse would be full of kids shoving tables together, eating mini tacos, and playing card games (B.S. was our selection).  At age 25, making friends isn't as easy as it used to be.  I mean PDub didn't even want to play underwater tag with me!
    After failing poolside, we decided to try pew-side.  According to their website, the selected church for the weekend claimed to have a contemporary service with a congregation composed of 100 individuals in their 20s and 30s.  The website was accurate, and we fit in perfectly.  With so many prospective friends, we of course lost all courage and bailed out immediately after the service ended.  From a positive standpoint, we found a church!
    Luckily, my sister-in-law, or Doubles Shark-Whisperer (found this on a PADI Scuba Diver Nickname website...deal with it, my friend), has just moved to Baltimore for a three-month rotation at Johns Hopkins.  I like to call it her new nurse-ing home.  Anyway, she and friends of a friend joined us for a pool/patio picnic on Memorial Day.  As for these friends of a friend, I can officially say that the paperwork is complete, and we have adopted them as our own.  AJacks and KielMac, we welcome you as our first friends!  So we may not have made more friends this weekend, but we did have some good times with Doubles Shark-Whisperer, AJacks (this is so close to Apple Jacks...hehehe), and KielMac.  If you live in the Arlington area and would like to join in my adventures (or just become our friends), please submit your resume (must have own shovel)!

Church of Clarendon

Riesling anyone?

Doubles Shark-Whisperer and PDub

AJacks and KielMac

Texas Pints

    My PDub is in France right now shaking hands with French operators at the refinery, receiving dirty looks from non-English speaking waiters, and avoiding collisions with his rented manual car...Jealous?  I think so.  Anyway, I spoke with him last night via Skype, and yes, we were a little frustrated that there was a lag time in our conversation, overlooking the pure beauty of talking to someone across the the Atlantic Ocean for free.  I have never been to France, so of course, I had several questions about the people, food, and area.
    As an aside, our family lives from meal to meal.  As in, we eat breakfast and are already planning what's for lunch and dinner.  We really don't think about much else.  Therefore, the majority of our conversation was about his meals for the day, and specifically his dinner that evening.  He told me that he was a given a rude look after the waiter asked him what wine he wanted, and he said red.  I guess the waiter snootily asked him what type of red wine.  At this point in the storytelling, I couldn't help but think of the Texas Pints story because you see, this type of answer from PDub isn't a one time thing.  It's happened before...
    Back when we lived in Texas, my fellow beerknurds and I enjoyed going to the Flying Saucer for a few brews.  This downtown bar has over 200 beers and the best pretzels!  Anyway, we would usually start off by ordering the Fire Sale, and on this particular day, any Texas pint was the special, meaning any beer brewed in Texas.  We each went around the table ordering a specific pint, and this ended with PDub ordering: "I'll have a Texas pints, please."  Of course, the conversation came to a halt, and we, including the waitress, looked at PDub in confusion, when really he was the one confused.  Unlike the waiter in France, the Texan waitress smiled and politely asked which one.  He proceeded to tell her, "The fire sale...the Texas pints."  She finally rolled off a list he could choose from, clarifying for my PDub that Texas pints includes several different beers.
    We still bring up the Texas Pints story from time to time and laugh about it.  Living with PDub is never boring!

Oh how I miss you...

At the Flying Saucer...

If this wasn't the reaction to PDub, it should have been....

Home Depot

    To prepare for the big Memorial Day weekend, I decided to head to the Arlington Home Depot to buy some plants.  I had just finished loading my cart with potting soil, my final item on the list, when the strangest character started a conversation with me.  Bottoms up, he was wearing the classic high top Converse shoes, bright red capris (totally would have been in if, say, he were female), a white t-shirt, a black vest with, what, yes, bugs bunny printed all over it, purple and pink hair, and topped off with a traveling hat.  A true character.  Evidently, he had lived in Houston (Montrose area...go figure) but now lives in the Arlington area.  How happy was I to find such a neighbor!
    While he was chit chatting for nearly 10 minutes (tripping over sentences every once and awhile), I was giving all passersby a "save me" look.  Finally, a middle-aged man came to my rescue informing me that our 2 year old girl was in the car and that we needed to get going....my hero!  Even though I would never leave my 2 year old in the car.  Needless to say, the rescue mission was a success, and I was able to check-out and make it to my car in peace.  If any of you want the strange character's e-mail address or his author recommendations, I would be more than willing to send them your way seeing that he wrote them down for me.  Just another day in Virginia...

The Move

    It's been a month now since our big move, and I feel that I should fill you in on what has happened.  We are coming from the tiny town of Dayton, TX forty miles northeast of Houston.  Dayton (7,700 ppl) is slightly smaller than the town we are from.  As in, it doesn't have a Super Wal-Mart or an Applebee's; however, it is closer to a big city.  Of course, Dayton has its true Texas culture with trucks populating the roads, boots on the majority of feet, and words like "y'all" and "reckon" added to the vocabulary.
    I made myself right at home in our 2200 sq. ft. house with goats at the subdivision entrance and cows across the street.  By day, I was a criminalist at Houston Police Department Crime Lab downtown, and by night, I was a vigilante clearing the streets of rif raf....just kidding, please don't call me Dexter...By night, I was teaching little ballerinas dance.  I had it all!  That is until I chose a different road for my life.
    My high school sweetheart, PDub (as he will henceforth be called...I was going to go with PPants, but he would have killed me!), was given the option to transfer to the Washington D.C.-based offices.  I must clarify, Washington D.C. the capitol of the US, not Washington state as in the Twilight movie.  Seriously, we were constantly correcting people!  Anyway, we jumped at the opportunity.
    After downsizing, selling our house, and packing up, we drove the 1,365 miles to our new home.  So here we are in our 715 sq. ft. apartment two blocks from the metro and half a block from good Chinese food.  We may have left a huge house, chicken fried steak, and my job, but this move, I'm trying to convince myself, is for the better.  Oh, how I could use a big Texas potato right about now....

Our home in Texas

Our new home in Virginia

The Beginning

    My fabulous sister-in-law recently recommended that I start blogging.  I simply laughed at her request because my blog experience has been limited to the movie "Julie and Julia."  Currently, my internet usage consists of gmail, Facebook, and Pinterest.  So for me to start blogging (is this even the correct terminology?) is nearly unheard of....nearly...
    I have a lived a quarter of a century and resided in Illinois, Indiana, Texas, and now Virginia all because of my high school sweetheart (don't vomit).  No regrets, I have chosen to become a follower led by my blonde-haired, green-eyed husband.  I must be crazy because statistics show that following such individuals can be both dangerous and fun.  I hope that this blog can help me keep my sanity and entertain those readers with my troubles and especially my adventures...