Last night was our last choir concert of the season.  It went really well, I think.  It was nice to only be performing one piece (the orchestra did the Organ Symphony as the first half, which was absolutely amazing – if you’ve seen Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, you would recognize the piece).  It meant that rehearsals weren’t as strenuous, which was nice, after March’s concert .  We rehearse Monday nights til 10:00, which means running home after work, changing and scarfing down some dinner, and then straight to the Cathedral.  I’m really going to enjoy having my Mondays back, but I’m going to miss seeing those people all the time.  There’s a huge age range in the choir.  Our youngest member is probably a girl in her freshman year of college, and we definitely have members in their 80′s.  And there are so many different professions represented too.  It’s just nice to be around completely different people for a change.  Otherwise, I’m with people my age or federal employees.  We re-audition at the end of May, and then next season starts up after Labor Day.  I shouldn’t be, but I’m a little worried about re-auditions.  I’ve got the music and I know most of it, but I’m still concerned.  There are some amazing singers in our choir, most of them still being trained.  While I have a number of years of training under my belt, it’s been a while since I’ve had a lesson.  D.C. has also just lost one of its big chorales, and so all of those members will be looking for new places to sing.  Thankfully, we re-audition first, but our directors have to know that there’s a whole lot of other talent out there.

I ran the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Race again this year.  I actually trained properly this year and knocked more than 5 minutes off my time.  I’m still insanely slow, but I’d rather be slow and finish happy than be fast and want to vomit as soon as I cross the finish line.  I’m running the Army Ten Miler in October, and the Disney Princess Half Marathon in Orlando in March.  I’m ridiculously excited about that race, and I want to be sure I’m in good running shape for it.  I’ll never be a marathoner, but a half marathon sounds like a good challenge. 

I ran a whopping 3 miles this weekend.  Clearly, more running is necessary.

I went to Hawaii for a week in April.  It was awesome and beautiful and relaxing, and I wish I had more time for vacations.  It’s so rare that I just take a day to do nothing but sit and read and not worry about things.  When I’m home, even if I have a day off, I have a list of tasks that I feel the need to complete.  I need to work on being a better relaxer.  I don’t see that happening anytime soon though.

Other than that, I’m not sure what takes up all of my time, but it’s definitely busy.  I guess that’s a good thing.

Even though it was a short weekend, it was nice to have time at home with the family when nothing was really scheduled.  Even at Christmas, things were really busy with Christmas celebrations, and rehearsals for Mass, and my swearing in.  This time, it was just relaxing and fun. 

Conveniently, I even got an extra day there – I was at the airport sitting at the gate on Monday when they announced that the flight was cancelled.  By this point in time, my parents were already nearly home (a 45ish minute drive).  I called the airline and could still have made it home on Monday night, but there was a good chance that I would arrive in D.C. after the Metro had closed – and while I have good friends here, asking someone to pick me up after midnight on a Monday night seemed like a lot to ask.  I instead opted to take a flight late Tuesday morning. 

I hadn’t been back since Christmas, and hadn’t seen my grandparents since then either, so it was really a great trip.  It was fun to get to play with the dogs too.  I miss having dogs around, but my schedule doesn’t really allow for a dog right now. 

I won’t be back again til this Christmas (already booked my flights!), but I’ll see the family sporadically throughout the fall, mostly thanks to football.  Nothing like Notre Dame football to bring a family together.

This is the end of my traveling for a few months, thankfully.  I like being gone, but it’s so hard to get back to a routine once I get home!

The first part of my trip was at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.  I love that place.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been there, but it really never gets old.  We went during the Flower and Garden Festival, which meant lots of Disney topiaries.

But of course, it also meant lots of great traditional Disney sights as well.  The weather wasn’t quite perfect – it rained a bit just about every day, but that kept temperature and the crowds down a bit.  I can’t say that the rain ever ruined part of the day.  Plus it was funny to see all those kids in plastic covered strollers.  I understand the practicality and necessity, but the kids just looked like they were being wheeled around in little boxes.

We ate at a bunch of great restaurants, but one big favorite was Raglan Road, a little Irish Pub over near Pleasure Island.  So delicious.

Having been there makes me want to consider training for the Disney Marathon again.  Of course, I’ve not really been running much as of late, but I keep coming back to that marathon as one that I want to do “someday.”  I think we might be talking doing it in 2010.  Which is far away.  And yet I still should get out and start running again.

]]> http://elbowglitter.com/blog/2008/06/04/disney-recap/feed/ 0 http://elbowglitter.com/blog/2008/05/28/the-only-way-to-travel/ http://elbowglitter.com/blog/2008/05/28/the-only-way-to-travel/#comments Wed, 28 May 2008 22:31:11 +0000 Megan http://elbowglitter.com/blog/?p=20

Somehow, I thought that because I was only in San Francisco for two full days and three nights that I wouldn’t really have to deal with the effects of jet lag. I would leave the hotel in the morning, having not gotten much sleep, and by the time I got home around 9:30 Eastern, I would be sufficiently tired, even though it was still only 6:30 in SF.

I was wrong. Partly because my preferred way of passing the time on a plane is either watching the inflight movie (Note: The Bucket List is sad. Yes, the ending is predictable. But still sad.) or sleeping. So not only was my body confused about the time zones, but I had slept half the day. Therefore, when I got home, I was wide awake and felt the need to go through all my mail and sort the laundry and unpack everything and watch the first half of last week’s Bones. Oh yes, and pet some kitties.

This has been a very long way of saying that I’m tired. But I’m home. Pictures to come.

I think everything will fit, but mostly because for Disney, I’m packing shorts and t-shirts, and those don’t take up much room.  But I am the person who packs for every contingency.

“Yes, I know we will be able to do laundry, but I am still going to bring enough shirts for every day, plus three.”

“The odds of me going for a run are not in running’s favor, but I will still bring enough clothes to go for at least two runs.”

“Obviously, I need a zip-up hoodie for the plane, and that will be good in case it gets cool.  But I should also bring a second one, just in case.  You know, in case I spill something.”

“Lots of time on airplanes, so two books in the carry-on, plus two more in the suitcase.  Oh, and then this one and that one too.  You know, in case of fast reading.  Or bad books.  Or bears.”

This is why my suitcase is always stuffed to the gills and why my carry-on ends up being so heavy that I bruise my collarbone by dragging it through the airports.