Everyday life in DC

Time is flying by here in DC.  I feel like I have been able to blog a lot since we got here, but the pictures just keep coming faster than I can write! Here is a little bit about what we have been up to during the week days!

Before we left, my Dad gave the hubby two great books from Deseret Book. We have been learning a lot as we read them.  They have given us a different outlook on life.

Meet Caroline :)  Her Mom came in town for business for a few days and needed someone to watch her. We found each other on a nanny website and I ended up being the lucky candidate.  She is an adorable four month old baby that I got to babysit in their hotel room right by the Capitol Building.  I got to enjoy the hotel's continental breakfast every day, went on walks, toured more museums, and played with this cute little girl. 

The hubby finally pulled out his oils and started painting!! I love watching him put together such neat pictures.  It is a good way for him to clear his fast working mind, and be able to relax.  I love the down time it creates!

The hubby brought me some gorgeous flowers home :)  There are ladies that stand by our metro stop everyday and sell them.  They always look really fresh and pretty.

If I am grateful for one thing right now--it is this cart.  Our closest grocery store is straight uphill a few blocks and in the heat and humidity, it makes the walk a little painful sometimes.  This beauty saves me from having to load all the groceries up each arm like I did in Philly.  We have also created a budget for every month to keep better track of what we are spending and saving.  It has turned into a game for me to meal plan for every day of the week, go grocery shopping, and add every item up on my phone's calculator before I get to the check stand to make sure I am not going over budget.  I love it and we have loved trying the new meals. I have been searching for new recipes like mad, and pin them all on Pinterest so I can find them again.  That website has saved me. Anyway... I will definitely be making a purchase for a cart like this as soon as we get back to Philly.

Meet Jane.  She recently got out of the hospital for meningitis! She was in her 70's and I got paid to go to her apartment and hang out with her during the day so she wasn't alone.  I had to check her blood sugar, give pills, make sure she took the right amount of insulin at the right time, and cook her meals. All she ever wanted was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or crackers with melted cheese on top. Other than that, I read and stitched all day long. She was passed out on the couch like this picture most of the day!

This is our laundry room.  I have never had a problem with fighting for a vacant machine--but I have been sad at watching how much money goes down the drain.  It is $3.00 for a full load. To me that is expensive and it adds up quick!

I finished my first stitching pattern and am going to make it into a pillow when I get home to my sewing machine.  I posted a picture of the back to show how big of a beginner I am.  If you are looking for something easy to do while watching a movie or hanging out, you can borrow my patterns. I originally got them at a stitching store in Gardner Village and they are about $8 a piece. It has been way fun! Here is the next one I am working on--it will go in a wooden frame:

Meet Jack. He is another little boy that I was able to babysit for a few days! He was really whiney all the time, which acted as a good birth control for me :)  I don't know if he was teething, or if it was because he is really small for his age from being a super early preemie. Either way I felt bad for the little guy.

This is what the hubby gets to see everyday when he goes to work!  The White House is about a block away, and the second picture is a view straight out of his office window.  Time to be a bragging wife: He has been loving the experience and feels like they are training him for a future position.  His boss has already told a few people in the office that she isn't going to let him go back to school for his last year.  He received 'exceeds expectations' on most of the areas on his mid-internship evaluation and has tried really hard to make a good impression. It is definitely not what he wants to do long term--but at least he can give it his all right now. Proud of him :)

I got crafty and made us a MEMORIES jar.  I gladly topped off the salsa in the jar, rinsed it out, and spiced it up a little bit with some paper and a quote. "Take care of all your memories, for you cannot replace them."  We put memories in there of the little stuff that we know we are going to forget the next day.  The point is, is to fill the jar up and read them all every year on New Years. I figured it could be a cool tradition if we kept up on it, and one day all of the different jars would look neat in a line on a shelf. I have placed small pieces of paper next to our bed, and that helps us to write something down every night before we go to sleep.  It will be worth it in the end, and the hubby is excited about it.  He has put in more memories than me!

Life is good :)