A glorious three day weekend home alone

For Memorial Day weekend, I found myself alone in Washington DC. Almost every person I know in this city went out of town. I had no desire to travel and really just wanted a weekend to catch up on sleep, exercise, and relaxation.

By last Friday night almost everyone had left. I was so tired from the work week and a new workout routine that I found my way to the couch and watched a movie I'd never seen before: The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio. It was a really good movie, until about half-way through I got a knock at the door and a girl who used to live in my apartment showed up to pick up her TV. The very one on which I was watching my movie. I thought it was funny that so early into my wonderful weekend of hanging out by myself (which of course involved a few movies) my TV was being taken away! No big deal though. I just watched the rest of it on my lap top.

Saturday morning I ran on the trail that runs behind my apartment complex. It's a beautiful trail that follows Rock Creek. It feels so removed from the busy city nearby. After my run, I layed out by the pool. My apartment complex's pool opened on Saturday, and it is such a nice pool. There's three separate pools and there are lots of lawn chairs. Tennis courts too! I went to the library the day before to make sure I had plenty of reading material. I'm going through a huge American Early 20th-century kick right now. I'm reading Brave New World, but I'm really diving into a more indepth study of Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby. I have lots of great sources at the Museum: People who have studied Fitzgerald a lot and are giving me lots of great reading material. After my time at the pool, I did some cleaning, and then went to some stores to look for cheap new clothes. I bought a few things and now I'm feeling guilty so some of it will go back. Then later that night I baked cookies and watched another movie.

Sunday I went to church and despite so many people in my ward being out of town, the place was still very full, with the overflow area still open. It was full of sales boys I realized. It was the first time I felt outnumbered as a girl in that ward. The talks and lessons were great~ and definitely the source of my post-shopping guilt. Sunday night was the best part of the weekend. I met up with some friends from the ward on the Mall for the Memorial Day Celebration Concert. It was awesome. Very emotional and moving.The National Symphony Orchestra played. The National Marching Band performed as well as the military choir. There were tons of guest performers there like Brian Stokes Mitchell, Katherine McPhee, Katie Holmes, and many many more. The best parts were the stories shared about war vets, the opportunity all the vets in the audience got to stand and be recognized, and when General Colin Powell quoted the Prophet Isaiah. The overriding message that I took from the whole production was that God cannot be separated from this county. He is embedded in its founding and in the principles we embrace. I LOVED being on the National Mall on the steps of the Capitol listening to people sing "God Bless America" and offer prayers to our servicemen and women. There was a strong spirit there. I hope God will always be a part of our National identity.

On Monday I slept in and then went to the pool again to lay out. I was lucky I went early enough in the day that I didn't get caught in the torential downpour that came later in the afternoon. I did pilates in my living room. Then went grocery shopping. I watched a stupid movie from the 80s it seemed called "Cutting Edge." Then last night went to FHE at the church and then did my nails and went to bed at 11!

It was a great, relaxing weekend.