I feel like a sell-out

My seat on the bandwagon is nice and comfy...

Okay, so on Saturday, I did this:

And got some of this:

No, you're not mistaken. Yes, I waited more than a year to sell my old car. Yes, it sat in my wonderful sister's driveway all that time. No, it did not make it any easier to let go.

To ease the pain, I took the money and bought an iPod touch. A heck of a lot smaller than my white Civic, a heck of a lot newer, and apparently worth about the same amount. I'm really enjoying it so far. We'll see how the relationship pans out.

I know, I know

I keep getting yelled at about not keeping my blog up-to-date. There are worse sins, people! But, here I am, blogging. I don't have all my pictures uploaded that I wanted to share, but I will give you a brief rundown of what I've been up to. Since Washington DC, I've experienced a fun day-trip to Jordanelle, training in Protective Orders, a spur-of-the-moment trip to Las Vegas, a sad farewell to a lot of great co-workers, a Saturday visit with my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Dennis in Wendover, and beginning a new job. Hopefully that's enough to whet your appetite until you can get more Life in Limbo :)

"O! Say can you see"

Perhaps the most amazing thing I saw here is the Star Spangled Banner...the actual flag which inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that would become our National Anthem. This exhibit is one in which you can't take pictures, so the pictures below are taken from the exhibit's blog. I can't accurately describe the feeling I had here.

As you enter the exhibit, the outside wall is filled with information about Francis Scott Key and the events leading up to that fateful battle. Then as you round the exhibit you see on your left a glass room, with this giant flag laid out. Behind the flag, on the wall, are projected the words to the first verse of the Star Spangled Banner. Seeing those words behind the actual banner talked about in them filled me with a sense of patriotism that is beyond explanation. As much as I loved my Lincoln Day, I would recommend this exhibit to anyone going to D.C.

I love singing the National Anthem, but I actually really prefer the fourth verse of the song. I'll leave you with those lyrics:

Oh, thus be it ever when free men shall stand

Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!

Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n rescued land

Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation!

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto, "In God is our trust"

And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

"We the people"

All of the most incredible things we saw today were in areas where pictures aren't allowed. So the pictures you'll see are taken from other sources; I didn't break the rules :)

We started off the day at the National Archives. We tried to reserve tickets online, but there were none available. So we were pretty nervous about what the lines were going to look like. When we got to the Archives, the line was pretty long, but since it was moving quickly we thought we'd be fine. The biggest concern we had was Samantha. Sitting too long without moving in the 100-degree sun they have here can be a bit much. We were in before too long, and moved through security quicky.

We were waiting right off the elevators because the crowd waiting for the rotunda was huge when an Archives worker walked up to Ashley and said, "Have you already been to the rotunda?" Ashley said, "No, that's what we're waiting for." And the worker asked, "Would you like me to take you in a back entrance so you don't have to deal with any more stairs?" Oh the perks of having a baby in a stroller...She walked us right up and in this gate that led directly into the rotunda where the Charters of Freedom are displayed. We didn't have to wait in line at all (and it was a line that probably would have taken us an hour to wait through). It was AWESOME. So I got to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.


Then I went to the gift shop where I spent as much money as I've spent the rest of my trip here :) Oh well. It was worth it.