Thankful Thursday - Take 43

895. Lunch out with the hubster today.

 

896. A fantastic weekend in Washington, D.C. with Josh and Kelly.

897. The best steak of my life. Nothing will ever compare.

898. Safe travels while driving.

899. Finally a great night of sleep last night.

890. A great shower and a time to celebrate Jamie Lee and her upcoming wedding!

 

891. Morning talks with my parents.

892. Such a sweet dog. Did you know that he sleeps on the hardwood floor on my side of the bed?! And he’s so happy to see us!

893. Rain to keep the grass green.

894. Good friends.

895. God’s healing hands.

 

896. Laughing co-workers. Delightful.

897. Amazing Grace. Man I love that song!

898. I finally have a Pinterest account. Watch out world!

899. New margarita glasses!

900. Round ice balls!

 

901. Apps on the phone. It was only two weeks ago that I began downloading.

902. Summer school is nearly over!

903. Transparency and vulnerability.

904. Air-conditioning and good sleep because of it.

905. Such a handsome husband.

 

906. Health.

907. Sweet tea. I’m back to being a fan.

908. Water to drink.

909. Straws to drink that water through. I love a good straw.

910.Chicken wings. It’s been almost two weeks since I’ve had one. I’m having withdrawals.

 

911. Coupons and coupon codes and free stuff.

912. Olympics start tomorrow!

 

Grateful

Kelly and Kathryn thanked a young Marine for his service. The young man was incredibly humbled that we were thanking him.

Smart Cards are essential for travel in DC.

Holding your mouth wide open when laughing is best.

The men and their Chianti!

The girls and their Prosecco

Best steak of our life

No lie. THE BEST steak of our life. Porterhouse four fingers thick and shared between four people. Cooked medium rare and we could cut it with a fork!

Arlington

The weather seemed appropriately dreary to visit Arlington National. We saw the Tomb of the Unknown Solider and JFK's site. We also went up the hill to see the home of R E Lee. Really amazing. We then drove to Jefferson and Lincoln's Memorial. Finished with more shopping in Georgetown and the surrounding area. Presently Josh is mixing up cocktails for everyone and we are going to head to dinner.

Ray 3

We indulged in a wonderful lunch today at Rays to the third. Josh and I had cheese steaks and the ladies had burgers. They were amazing! Look at K. She is overwhelmed with happiness.

Serendipity

Our ice cream experience at the famous Serendipity!

Out front of National's Park

After a fun day of shopping in Georgetown we went to a Nationals game. Should point out we lost K in the subway for a while when she was the only one able to get on the next train and we watched her speed off when the doors closed. We hopped on the next and caught her at the next station but she said our faces on the other side on the glass was priceless. Although we had a 90% chance of rain all day we had avoided getting too wet. That luck ran out in the 4th inning of the game when it started coming down. So we headed back but that would take several modes of transportation as part of our subway line was under repair. Just part of the adventure and had a good time the whole way.

Half-smoked from Ben's Chilli Bowl

Waiting on the reason to stop.

Nationals game!

Washington Nationals game!

Matchbox pizza... The calm before the storm

We had 4 great flavored of pizza including spicy meatball, chicken pesto, prosciutto and fig, and soppressetta and wild mushrooms. This was followed by a tropical storm.

Rosa's Mexicana part dos

One visit wasn't enough for one day. Pomegranate margarita for the ladies.

First meal on DC trip

Kelly and K are posed in front of a restaurant I have been wanting to try. This just in... It's awesome!

It's pouring down rain!

Archives

Capital building

Capital building

Mexican

At Rosa Mexicana in DC with Kelly!

Roadtrip!

We're lovin' our road trip to Washington DC!

Josh and Kelly

Beau and I are hopping in the car again this afternoon and heading up to Bethesday, MD/Washington, D.C. to see Josh and Kelly! Beau and I are so excited to see them! They moved to the DC area last year and we have yet to visit them there and see their new place. We’ll be going to a baseball game, a sculpture garden, a mimosa place and a nice restaurant, among other things. I don’t even know what all is planned, but whatever is (including nothing at all) will be wonderful. They’re the type of friends that we can sit around with and have the best time!

 

Some highlights of the trip on the front end:

1.        Staying in a hotel tonight (before we get to Josh and Kelly). I love the King size bed and watching TV in bed. J

2.       The opportunity to pick out some neat cocktail glasses that hopefully Kelly will point out. (She’s very skilled in this area and for that I am thankful.)

3.       Spending time with Josh and Kelly.

4.       Going out to dinner with them some place fancy. They are our perfect out to eat friends (Martin and Ivania included). No matter where we go, everyone is under the assumption that we’ll be there a long time. We order cocktails, wine, appetizers, entrees and of course, dessert. And it’s absolutely wonderful. A real experience. I love it!

5.       Seeing Josh and Kelly’s new place.

6.       Roadtrip with the hubster!!!! We get a treat before we leave as well. J

 

Anyway, happy Wednesday to you all. We’re over and out and will be back on Monday with pictures.

 

Very reasonable dinner

Nahum 1:3

The clouds are the dust of His feet...
Driving home from Jordan's graduation party.

Thankful Thursday - Take 42

889. A wonderful and much  needed vacation last week! I would do it again tomorrow if I could!

890. Fun times with Donna, Morgan, Beau, Mom and Dad last week. Lots of memories made!

 

891. Pina coladas! My fave! And I make a great one! (No mix!)

892. Sleeping in.

893. New recipe for Shrimp Tacos that is fantastic!

894. Iced coffee.

895. Funny analogies regarding dry hair.

 

896. Car rides with the hubster.

897. Laughing each time Argos jumped into the water.

898. Hills to walk up.

899. Peanut M&Ms.

890. Afternoon naps.

 

891. Gamecock tickets purchased!

892. Inspiring music.

893. Afternoon visit with Sara.

894. Class is over for the week!

I need to do this!

RSVP

If you’ve ever hosted anything or invited a group of people out, you realize the importance of an RSVP. So let me take a moment to discuss a point that is very near and dear to me. The idea of the RSVP! I have often said that I wanted to host a dinner party in which I would serve quail or something that required an exact count on who was coming. That way when someone showed up for dinner and they didn’t RSVP, I could let them in but they couldn’t eat because they didn’t tell me they were coming. Now, would I really not feed them? No. I would most likely give them mine and then force Beau to share his with me. Anyway, to not RSVP to an invite of any degree is rude. Whether you’ve been invited to someone’s house for a party, a barbeque, a formal dinner or out with friends for any reason. We should all make a point to at least respond, even if unsure of availability. It’s even been made easy for people by sending invitations through email or the internet. It requires clicking “yes” or “no”. What else do you need?

 

I have included Emily Post’s guide to RSVPing and the importance of it.

 

How Do I RSVP?

No matter how you receive an invitation, it's critical to let your host know if you'll be accepting...or not.

That's right, except for a "regrets only" it's just as important to let your host know if you can't attend as it is to let him know that you can. Here are some typical ways invitations are extended and how to RSVP.

Mailed invitation with a phone number...	Call and make sure to give your response in person- an answering machine can be unreliable.
..."texts welcome!"	Nice option! Go ahead and text your reply.
E-mailed invitation	Hit the REPLY button
E-vite®	Follow the directions to reply and don't stress out over trumping another guest's witty response. If you opt for "Maybe," make sure you follow up with your final answer.
Phoned invitation	You can respond right away, or if you prefer not to be put on the spot, say, "Let me check my calendar and get right back to you." Just be sure you do exactly that!
Mailed invitation with a response card	Fill in the card and return it in the enclosed envelope. Reply right away or by the date indicated.
Mailed invitation with RSVP and no response card	Send a prompt handwritten reply to the host at the address on the envelope.
Regrets only	You only need to reply if you can't go. If your host doesn't hear from you, he's expecting you to be there.

 

 

Nightmare

I had a nightmare last night that I was wearing a Clemson t-shirt! Ugh!

 

Peach and Pistachio Salad

My delicious salad I made for dinner! This will be a staple in my house!

Lake Sheila 2012

And more to come…

 

Lake Sheila 2012

The house.

Lake Sheila 2012

We even went for a walk!

 

Lake Sheila 2012

Coon Dog Day Festival!

Lake Sheila 2012

We had a SUPER time at the lake this week! It was exactly what Beau and I needed to regroup and relax away from work and school and normal, everyday activities. I think we thought we may get bored being up there for a week with nothing planned. But far from it! We weren’t ready to come home! I know I could have stayed another week and been perfectly content.

 

Beau, Donna and I shared the first half of the week with Morgan. It was filled with the guys being their silly selves, great conversations over politics and stupid photos sent to friends. And the second half of the week we shared it with my parents. Another relaxing and wonderful time with both of our parents that was really special to us. Except for the hard pillows, the week was truly perfect. We had a wonderful time and can’t wait for Lake Sheila 2013!

 

Check out our pictures over the following posts.