Quincy Place Christmas

Our Christmas Tree, thanks to my roomie Beth!

Our Festive House!

Many apologies, I am unable to take a decent exterior shot due to the fact that there is never any daylight to take the picture in. I will be sure to post one soon!

Have a wonderful holiday!

Gangsters on the Block!

Mitch and I at the Quincy Place Halloween, I went as a gangster and she was Hermoine from Harry Potter! I think I need mental help!

Mitch and Jimmy, how cute!

The Quincy Place Crew!

Offered, Accepted, Moved & Settled!

In almost two months time I have been offered and have accepted a position with my company to permanently transfer to Washington, DC; prepared my house for the market, moved ALL my belongings, and actually gotten somewhat settled in my new place in DC.

I actually live in the District, as it is called by the locals (I say locals because almost nobody is native but rather transfers); my income tax is ridiculously high considering the condition of the roads and their lack of maintenance, but I finally live in an old house, not some 80's bull!

Thanks to Ryan, I now know the house was built in 1900 and the neighborhood, called Eckington, was developed by a man named George Truesdell, after 1887.

Finally, I can be a history nerd for a second and appreciate the creaks and cracks of my old house; not the bugs though! I have been give the back bedroom on the south facade, which is cold in the winter and hot in the summer but I have two huge closets, one is actually more of a room; but this couldn't be any better because we all know I need them. Pictures to follow in later posts.

My job is going well, I an enjoying it much more than I imagined and my team, well you couldn't ask for a better one. The teasing is almost to the point of reckless but I know that only means they like me!

This past weekend my roommate ran the Marine Corps Marathon, her first, and had an awesome race! Congrats, Boston! Way to go!

For Halloween, my other roommate and I are having a party with a few of my new friends and many of hers! I have decided to go as a gangster, complete with grill, bling, baggy jeans, platts and a do-rag; this should be interesting! I'll be sure to take lots-o pictures.

As far as winter plans, I am going to Boston, with Boston, over Thanksgiving and I am heading home to Minn-e for Christmas/(you have to say 'slash') the Jewish Holidays! I'll be home from late on the 24th through the 4th of January. Although I will be picking up a few shifts at AAA while I am there I will still hopefully have time to see everyone.

I will post more in the upcoming weeks, including lots of pictures, now that things have settled down and I have been scolded that I don't post enough! Until next time, au revoir, mes amies!

Been A While!

So, needless to say I have basically fallen off the face of the earth and clawed my way back on again! During that time I visited home for the 4th of July and saw a pregnant Libby, been auctioned off as a date for an LLS fundraiser, taken a trip to Portland, OR to see Miss Mel and Ryan, and the place where they shot the movie the Goonies, taken an unexpected trip home to Minnesota and finally had visitors, my Mom, Starr and Shannon. I hope you enjoy the photos, they are better than me telling you about it! Enjoy!

Beth aka Boston and myself at her LLS fundraiser where we were auctioned off as dates!

Michelle and Me at the LLS Fundraiser

Me, Ryan and Mel at Lookout Point in Oregon!

Multnomah Falls and the Benson Bridge in Oregon.

Mel and Me at Cannon Beach, where the Goonies was filmed!

Mount Vernon's river view, my new favorite place to be.

More pictures to come in the next few weeks!

For Future Reference

Due to the nature of my project, I am no longer able to post pictures on my blog. Take care and Happy 4th! ~Meg

My Co-workers like to Party!

On a lovely Friday evening in the backyard of a fellow co-worker, a group from my company gathered. Here are a few of the less blurry pics from the evening hopefully demonstrating the camaraderie of the group. Enjoy!

A Day at the Beach

A few Sundays ago I went with my friends Beth, Michelle, Mike and Courtney to Bethany Beach on the coast of Delaware. It wasn't too terribly warm however being from Minnesota, ocean beaches being as rare as they are, I just had to go in. I have also included a few photos from crossing the Bay Bridge, just south of Annapolis.



Me and Beth (Boston) the only water goers; both from the North, I guess that is to be expected!

Beth, Myself and Michelle at Brunch at the Cool Beans cafe in Bethany!

Mike and Courtney at brunch

The Bay Bridge from the sunroof of Mama Passat II!

A Beer Pong Weekend in the City

Well, it had been a while since I have played Beer Pong, many years in fact but after this last weekend I have been able to hone in on my "mad" skills with an all day Beer Pong fest in honor of Memorial Day. Thanks to my friends Michelle, Boston, Mike, Jimmy and Matt I was kept occupied all evening Saturday and most of Sunday with the occassinal break for BBQ food!

Earlier in the day on Saturday I took my second of the nine exams I have to take to call myself an architect. I will find out in 6-8 weeks how I did but until then I have decided to try and convince myself I passed. I feel as though I didn't study enough, or maybe that is my subconcious trying to tell me to get another exam in before I find out my slacking didn't affect my score. All I know is that I have 7 more exams to complete and 1 year to do it in. The catch though, if I don't pass one, I have to wait 6 months to take it again, so really I only have 6 months to finish the 7, hoping of course that I pass each the first time.

On Monday, I was a guest at Tom and Mercedes's house in Reston, VA. The backyard BBQ was amazing and just the perfect way to spend the holiday. Tom is actually a coworker of mine who commutes to Minneapolis on a weekly basis. It is really nice having people out here like Tom, Mercedes and Michelle to keep me out of trouble and well fed. Ok, maybe not out of trouble!


So, since I have been here I have been pressured by my coworkers to join the co-ed softball team. And thanks to some of the more serious players we currently have an awesome record, 6-1! (See photo) The men were less inclined to pose!

From L to R: Charity, Keli, Latha, Pam and Rhonda. And just so you know, that is beer in those water bottles, just one of the many great reasons to play on the team!

Eastern Market

Eastern Market in SE D.C., otherwise known as Capitol Hill, a very up and coming neighborhood. It is filled with these wonderful little coffee shops, eateries and the most outstanding market (flea, farmers, crafts, antiques, etc.) you will find in the area! On Sunday, the 18th, in a mad search for a gift for my Mom's birthday I headed down there with my friends Michelle and Mike to have breakfast and search for the gift I had in mind for Mom. I found what I was looking for and more! More coffee, rain, purses, jewelry, produce, and did I mention rain, than I ever thought was possible to find in one place. After a relatively gray morning and some shopping the three of us popped into a sidewalk bistro for brunch and out second cup of coffee when it started to rain. As we ate it stopped so afterwards it was out for more shopping and a third cup of coffee. By this time I was wired and Mike decided he wanted to sit and listen to the folk band playing on the coffee shop's patio. So we sat, and not five minutes later it started pouring! Umbrellas were up! Need less to say I will be back! After the outdoor market excursion we decided to get out of the rain and get under shelter, so we went to a movie and spent $8.50 each for the cheap tickets, but then again we were in Georgetown, former home of American Royalty, the Kennedys!

Michelle and Mike, having our second cup of coffee (@11am) and listening to the neighborhood folk trio!

The Eastern Market neighborhood, which looks a lot like some parts of Savannah!

My apologies for very few posts lately, I have been forgetting my camera on my trips into the city and my new Blackberry is a little bit more challenging to operate than my Razr, for cell phone pictures. Also, I have been studying for my second of my Architectural Registration Exams, Pre-Design, which I am taking on Saturday! After that I am hoping to get out a bit more and see more of DC, like Alexandria, some museums, and maybe go up in the Washington Monument! I will be back in Minneapolis for my birthday in exactly 2 weeks and am looking forward to seeing many of you when I am home. Until after my test...
Au Revior,
~Meg

City Tour

Well, on Saturday I was able to sleep in for the first Saturday in quite a while, which was great because it left me rested for my long adventure later that day. I took the metro into downtown and walked from the west side of town to Georgetown (photo below). I visited a few shops there, like my favorite the GAP and Dean and Deluca (to get lunch); I stopped to eat in a small courtyard and enjoy the afternoon sun. Then I proceeded to walk from Georgetown along the C&O canal and Rock Creek to where they feed into the Potomac. From there I passed Watergate and the Kennedy Center walking along the river. Rock Creek Parkway follows the Potomac to the Lincoln Memorial and then on down the Mall!

The East facade



The Jefferson Memorial from across the Tidal Basin



The Washington Monument



The Smithsonian Institute

Our Country's Capital

After all that, 12.6 miles, I met a few co-workers for a few beers and bites near Union Station. I took Sunday to rest up for my next adventure and did a little retail therapy. Although I did not accomplish as much on Sunday, I did do two very important things... locate the nearest Caribou Coffee (15 miles away, in a mall) and go to Target, again! Until next time!
Au revoir,
~Meg

South of the Mason Dixon Line, Again!

On the drive down, I thought about stopping in Sandusky to visit Tommy Boy.....

Hey y'all,
Well, I made it! I arrived in D.C. (Gaithersburg, MD, South of the Mason Dixon Line) about 11:30 Monday night after a grueling 11.5 hour drive from Madison, Wisconsin. Below are a few photos from the drive; I got a little bored so I had to have something to do. Many thanks to all of you who kept me occupied with phone calls and text messages.



The Allegheny Mountain Tunnel in Pennsylvania

Once I got here I got right to work; Tuesday morning I went to the site, but forgot my camera, of course. I got checked in at the office and got my new laptop and then was hoping to take a nap in the afternoon. Low and behold, I got a call from my friend Michelle, who lives in the city, who wanted to have dinner! So, I thought, I might as well head into the city, I am only here for 6 months! I took the Metro down to Dupont Circle to meet her for a drink and then we headed to Chinatown to meet some of her friends for dinner. We ate at this great place call the Matchbox, which I'm sure will become a favorite; mostly because we are able to skip the 45min wait because she knows the owner! After dinner Michelle and her friends took me around the Mall and then over to the FDR memorial (see photos below). At the end of the night, about 11:00, I climbed onto the Metro, with blisters on my feet, good food in my belly, and great memories in my camera!

The Washington Monument with the Tidal Basin in the foreground.

One of the any water features at the FDR Memorial!

Another water feature!

The copper wrapped colums and wall with decorative reliefs!

The copper columns and yet another water feature!

Stay posted for photos from the site!
~Meg

News from out East!

Well all, this a quite new and suprising development for me but considering what I am to tell you next it might not be that shocking....

I have been offered a position with my company, out in Washington, D.C.! And in these times of economic uncertanity I couldn't be happier. I will be leaving the Minneapolis area the week of May 5th for a 6-8 month stint in the 'burbs of D.C. to join a large project team.
Although short notice, the opportunity is not one to pass up and to be in D.C., what a great way to spend the summer! I don't know the details as of yet but now that I have a blog, I will be sure to keep you all posted as the details are refined. I will also be sure to post lots of photos of my time there including all of the awesome sites I will now have the opportunity to see. Check back often, until then, Au revoir!