Keepin' the 80's Alive!

We're finally to the end of September!

Monday, the 24th, was Alex's birthday which was celebrated in style at Baja Fresh complete with good company and cake.

Happy Birthday Alex!

Then, on Friday I participated in one of my favorite things I have experienced since moving out here. I'm not a big concert-goer. I've only been to a handful in my life, but back in April I was introduced to this local 80's cover band called "The Legwarmers."

Me, Karin, and Alex strikin' a pose.

A bunch of friends from the ward went in April and I had a blast, so naturally when I heard they were doing another concert in September I immediately purchased a ticket. They put on such a great show! As long as you can put up with the VERY crowded pit in front of the stage and the people around you getting progressively more drunk as the night goes on. Overall it's just a great time because most people come dressed in 80's garb and ready to dance to the 80's classics that everyone knows. Journey, Madonna, Wham, Michael Jackson, The Cure, the list goes on and on. Classic.
Best song: "Take on Me" by a-ha (possibly because it's my favorite dance to perform while playing Just Dance 3). Worst song: "Like a Virgin" by Madonna.

This is the face I make when "Like a Virgin" begins. I despise that song. 

Hours of continuous 80's music. Ears ringing for days afterwards. Feet sore from dancing. Doesn't get much better.

Kelli, Alex, me, Taylor, Stacie, and Brad.
Brad is their #1 fan, seriously, they dedicated a song to him.

One Packed Saturday!

This post will cover a few different activities, as I don't deem any of them worthy of an entire post...so here we go!

The week after Amish country I had a packed Saturday! The day began with Alex and I supporting our alma mater as the BYU women's volleyball team played in a tournament at George Washington University. They played Princeton and I'm using the term "played" loosely...they dominated Princeton. Don't believe me? 

We had 2nd stringers in during the third game...just sayin. 

Next up was a bus ride across town to the H Street Festival, an annual festival where they have tons of food, clothing, random fun things, etc. all set up along H Street in DC. We met up with Liz there and had ourselves some grilled cheese sandwiches from a food truck called "Big Cheese." 

I like to use my height to provide others with shade. You're welcome Liz!

We also ran into our friend, Kati, who was working one of the booths for her job. She works at Gallaudet University, which as I understand it, is a university for the deaf. She is excellent at sign language and I love it when she sits up front and translates Sunday meetings into sign language. 

Look how diverse we are! Blonde, Redhead, Brunette.
My roomie referred to us as "Neapolitan friends."

We headed home after the H Street Festival so we could get ready for the evening's entertainment, which was...get ready for it...a Relief Society Appreciation Dinner put on by the Elders Quorum in our ward! Apparently this is going to be an annual thing, this was the second one, but I was not in the ward last year for the first one. We were served salads, followed by a potato bar, and a delicious dessert of cake and ice cream. They had also prepared some speakers to talk about how great we are because we are women. No argument from me. I felt very appreciated. 

The most efficient potato bar line you will ever see! Ever.

What service!

Many of us from the dinner, went to a party to watch the BYU vs Utah football game, which didn't start until 10 p.m. here on the east coast! Talk about a late game. The party was fun, I would have enjoyed it more if  BYU had won, but those last few minutes when they had to keep kicking the fans off the field were pretty entertaining. Not sure it was worth me staying up til 2 a.m. That's all I have to say about that. 

That about covers that weekend. Phew! Busy day! 

Resting From My Labors of Unemployment

Serves me right for not keeping my blog up to date, but I made a mistake and posted about Amish country first, completely forgetting the post about my fabulous "stay-cation" over Labor Day weekend! It's possible that I mentally blocked out this weekend, even though I look on it fondly now, because of the unreal humidity that plagued the fields of the Scottish Festival that day. Finding myself completely drenched in sweat was a common, almost daily, occurrence this summer (my first on the east coast), and yet this day stands out as one in which I felt that I might literally die from the heat. Alas, my body temperature is not what this blog is about...

So, to begin the weekend, on Saturday I attended the Scottish Festival in The Plains, Virginia with my friends Brynn and Liz. Brynn has actual Scottish heritage so this festival actually meant something to her; and Liz and I just thought it sounded like fun to see some large men try to throw logs across a field.

After walking past dozens of tents set up bearing the names of different clans, we came upon the spacious fields where the sporting events and the marching bagpipe band performances were to take place. The sporting events did not disappoint. It astounds me that it is so entertaining to watch someone strain every muscle in their body in order to fling a heavy object as far as they can, and yet, it is. They threw hammers and large rocks. Then they tossed heavy weights straight up into the air to see who could throw it the highest. Then came the main event - the log toss (these probably all have proper names that I just don't know, apologies to any indignant Scottish readers). They balance this 50 foot log straight up in the air, then run forward with it and as it starts to tip forward they fling the bottom to see if they can get it to go end over end. Only one guy was able to do that. The rest are ranked based on how far up their end got measured in degrees. Like straight up would be a 90 degree angle, right? So if they got it almost straight up, but then it fell back down the way it came instead of going end over end, they'd score about an 80. Hopefully that kind of makes sense, I honestly didn't really understand most of what was going on.

Please notice the caution tape. I'm sure that will help if he
accidentally lets go of his million pound hammer and it heads right for me.
They'll say, "Hey, we warned you." 

And of course it wouldn't be a Scottish festival without bagpipes! The bagpipes were mostly just a constant background noise to the entire event. I never really sat and watched the marching bands, but I'm a fan of the bagpipes so it was not an unwelcome background noise.

Who doesn't love a man in a kilt?

There was also some sheep-herding, which just made me think of the movie, "Babe." I actually would have liked to see more of that, but they were taking so long to get it going and, as previously mentioned, I was about to die from heat stroke. So we did not stick around to watch that. We did see some Scottish dancers and folk song groups as well. Definitely worth the trip.

On Monday we decided to drive down to Charlottesville, VA to see the home of Thomas Jefferson, a.k.a. Monticello. First I should mention that we had planned to visit Montpelier (James Madison's home) that morning before heading to Monticello, but had failed to adequately research our directions and were taken to the city of Montpelier, VA, which is nowhere near the home of James Madison. At least it was a beautiful, scenic drive. After that little detour, we decided to skip it so we would have enough time at Monticello.
Now pay attention all you Utah readers. I have gotten into serious trouble for calling it Monticello with a soft "c," as in the city in southern Utah. Please pronounce it correctly when speaking of Jefferson's home - it is Monticello with a "ch" noise, as in the musical instrument. I'm just warning you in case you ever visit it.

Just stopping to smell the roses. 

Now that we've established that, I can say that this is by far my favorite place I have visited so far during my time out here. It is a bit of a drive to get there so I don't think it is as common of a tourist attraction, however it is absolutely worth the drive and I imagine I'll be returning so that I can see it once in every season of the year. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Somehow it has managed to remain removed from modern society, which adds to its historical feel that is difficult to describe. Another reason it is so beautiful is that it's situated at the top of a "mountain," the highest point in the area, so it has the most incredible view of the surrounding hills and valleys. He owned 5,000 acres, if I remember correctly, so his land stretches as far as you can see. Words cannot describe its beauty. We took a garden tour after the house tour where we had one of the most fantastic guides I've ever known. His name was Gerard and he knew more about vegetation than I ever thought was humanly possible. We'd be walking and he'd say, "Now this is a blue pine - as opposed to a white or green pine which of course has softer pine needles, etc. etc." I totally just made that sentence up, but you get the idea. I didn't know there was more than just one kind of pine tree. We loved Gerard.

We totally would have been friends.

I think one of the reasons I loved this house so much is that Jefferson designed it himself and really put his inventive spirit into the home. Some rooms are octagonal in shape and have floor to ceiling windows (unheard of for the time). He also designed a lower level to the house where everything besides the main rooms are, such as the kitchen, the stables, and wine cellar, which is a genius design because he built it so these parts of the house are unseen unless you go down the hill to the back. We also took the "Slavery at Monticello" tour. I never realized how much manpower it took to run a home as large as his. He  invented a lot of other things like this device that I relate to a "lazy susan" that he could set multiple books on at once and spin them around next to his study chair so he could have all these reference books available while he was studying. He kept his own records of the weather and was very involved in every aspect of how his household was run.

I just really loved this place. I approve, Mr. Jefferson, I approve.

This picture was taken by an elderly woman...hence the odd angle. 

Maybe I'll make a trip this winter...I bet it's beautiful in the snow!

What Do They Put in That Bread? Seriously.

Apologies for my absence the last few weeks. I have been getting settled into a new job and time has gotten away from me. Well I'm sure you've all been dying to know what I've been up to so let me put your minds at rest and fill you in!

The first weekend in September I drove up with my friends Liz and Alex to Lancaster, PA - a.k.a. Amish Country. I had previously visited a predominantly Amish city while on my Nauvoo Study Abroad back in 2006 when we went to Shipshewana, IN (I might have only mentioned that simply because I love saying the name Shipshewana). I remember really enjoying that little town, but mostly I remembered that the Amish make incredible food. If you are EVER near an Amish marketplace that sells fresh soft pretzels, you absolutely must get one. I don't know what they put in their bread dough, but they are the most fantastic things I've ever eaten. There is an Amish marketplace in Germantown, MD (fairly close to where I live now) that I have been to a couple times since living out here. It was in Germantown that I was introduced to the hot dog wrapped in a pretzel with melted cheese inside. A hot dog never tasted so good. The cinnamon sugar ones also get honorable mention.

Immergut (Always Good). The Amish don't lie. 

Now that I've given that lovely introduction and all of your mouths are salivating, we'll start from the beginning. We arrived on a Friday night and took up lodging at a lovely Ramada Inn in Lancaster, PA, where there was a country dance club on the lower level called "Low Places" and hallways that smelled of moldy rags. Luckily our room turned out to be quite nice and the repugnant smell disappeared once the door was shut. We settled in to waste some time watching TV before going to bed for the night and quickly discovered that their "cable" included approximately 10 real channels and about 50 channels of blue screens. No matter - we found a lovely documentary about how the "Beatles Rocked the Kremlin." This show immediately caught our attention as the narrator began the show with an introduction discussing how Beatles music basically brought down Communism in Russia, while the screen displayed black and white footage of a bleak looking post WWII Russia. We all burst out laughing and decided this show must be watched. Turns out, they actually weren't making this up. I ended up watching the entire thing and it was actually a pretty great documentary about how much affect the Beatles music had on these young kids in Russia. The government absolutely forbid them from listening, so naturally everyone wanted to. They started passing albums around through and underground system. If you were caught, you went to jail! Jail! For having the Beatles! Of course there were some crazies on the show, like the old man being interviewed who showed the camera crew his "shrine" to the Beatles containing paraphernalia that he had been collecting since he was a teenager. I guess the point is, you never know what kind of hidden jewel you'll find when channel surfing in a hotel.  

The next morning Alex and Liz were supposed to go in a hot air balloon (this had been the original purpose of the trip), but it was canceled due to inclement weather, so we ended up spending the whole day in Amish country. First we went to The Amish Village - a real Amish home and farm that has been converted into a touring site. I've always been interested in the Amish way of life and I quite enjoyed our tour of their home and land. Memorable things I learned:

Liz and I in an Amish buggy - um, where am
I supposed to put my 8 children? 

• The women pin their dresses on. Every day. With sewing pins.
• The women always part their hair down the middle and pull it into a tight bun. They usually end up going bald on their part because they pull it so tight every day. 
• All of the children go to school until 8th grade (their own school with an Amish teacher) and then stop. No one goes past 8th grade. 
• Teenagers are allowed to take a year of their lives to try life outside the Amish belief system, in the "real world" and then decide whether or not to stick with the Amish way for life. This is called "rumspringa." I always thought this was a year of basically doing anything and everything you wanted. But you actually still adhere to your parents rules and complete your daily chores and live in the home. They are just more relaxed about letting you go out at night and wearing typical teenage clothing and talking on cell phones, etc. About 90% decide to be baptized and stay with it.
• If they decide to not come back, they are still accepted by their families and friends. However, if you are baptized and then depart from it later - you will be shunned from Amish society. 
• They speak German in their households. They are taught English in school, but they speak German in their church services and read from German Bibles. Also, their church services are 3 or 4 hours of sitting in one room reading from a German Bible. I think I am beginning to see where the Amish patience comes from...
• They have small and simple celebrations for weddings, but the bride and groom stick around because they are expected to HELP CLEAN UP the next morning! What?! 

There's definitely more to them than just these notes, but these are some of the facts that I found interesting while we were touring. When we walked through the bedrooms there were Amish quilts on the beds and I wanted one so bad. Until I saw the price tag. Whoo! Now I know they are hand-stitched and they definitely deserve to be monetarily rewarded for their labor, but it will be a long while before I can afford an Amish quilt. They are beautiful though. 

Alex in Amish farmland. It suits her, no? 

After Amish Village, we drove through Bird-In-Hand (which takes about 5 minutes) and on towards Intercourse, PA. Am I immature for giggling at that city name? Probably. But at least I didn't buy the playing cards that said I *heart* Intercourse on the back of them. Things I did buy: a wonderful smelling candle  - Iced Oatmeal Cookie - which actually smells like Pumpkin spice to me and makes me think of Christmas time at home. I light it in my room all the time because the smell just makes me happy. A jam sampler of 6 different types of jams, ranging from Peach/Pineapple to Apple Cinnamon Jelly. There was this store called "Kitchen Kettle Village" that was a smaller version of Costco, complete with tasting stations throughout the store where you could try all the different flavors of jam, salsa, peanut butter, honey, etc. They had these fantastic jars of peanut butter that were flavored. One was peanut butter banana and another was peanut butter chocolate. Brilliant! I believe I tried every single flavor in that store...lunch was no longer necessary. But of course, one does not walk past Immergut and not get a pretzel. That would just be absurd. Suffice it to say, I did not come away from this trip hungry. 

No, I am not overly excited because that guy
next to me has an iPhone. 

We also took a tour of a pretzel factory. They took us in the back and demonstrated their process of making hundreds of pretzels every day (the hard ones that are packaged, not to be confused with Immergut). Then each person was given some dough to try to make their own pretzel. I think I missed my calling in life - I was totally a natural, as evidenced by this picture. If you need more evidence, I still have the sticker presented to those of us who mastered the pretzel-making technique (o.k. maybe everyone got a sticker). 

The calm before the storm.

After some more wandering through shops - one of which was a fudge factory where we observed a girl shape this slab of probably 50 lbs of hot fudge while it hardened - we headed back to the car. Just in time! Out of nowhere appeared masses of dark clouds. The heavens opened and flooded the streets of Intercourse. We drove to an indoor marketplace and wandered around there for a while, waiting for the storm to blow over. It was quite the torrential downpour. 

We finished off the trip with dinner at a local Country Store that gave us some good old-fashioned meat and mashed potatoes smothered in gravy. Delightful. Except for Liz who ordered a baked potato that ended up coming out smothered in "radioactive" nacho cheese. Somehow this radioactive cheese seems to pop up somewhere in her food every time we eat out. Just one of those mysteries of life I guess. 

Liz and Alex are heading back to magical Lancaster, PA tomorrow to hopefully actually get in the air for their hot air balloon ride. I'm crossing my fingers that an Immergut cinnamon sugar pretzel magically appears on my doorstep tomorrow night...

Again, sorry for the delay in updating the blog - more posts coming this week!