The Imitators

If imitation is the highest form of flattery then my family must be all about flattering one another! We are truly a family of copycats. Here are just some of a few examples. First, John Mark and I decide on a paint color for our bedroom in Florida. Great color called "Blue Fox" from Behr paints at Home Depot. Next thing I know, my sister Ivey is using it in her nursery and my parents have it in their guest bedroom. As for cars, JM and I were second to last in line of a series of Toyota Highlanders. It started with my mom buying one when they first came out in 2001. Great car that was then passed down to my sister Leslie. My parents bought a used one for Ivey and Leslie and Ivey traded Highlanders. Next, John Mark buys one. Then my mom bought a new one and gave the old one to my brother James. So now, we have a collection of 5 Highlanders in all. Next it was cameras! Ivey bought a great Cannon SLR and Leslie then bought the same model. James bought an awesome Fujifilm point-and-shoot and I bought John Mark the same camera for his birthday. Just this weekend I bought a Nikon and my mother called me today telling me she also bought a Nikon. She loves the fact that we can use each other's lens! I really have to stand back and laugh that we all end up having the same things! So either we all have good taste or we're that family everyone talks about...

Happy Easter!

He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Happy Easter to all!

This morning, John Mark and I joined our friends Sarah Beth and Emily and went to the Easter morning service at the Washington National Cathedral. We got there early to wait for tickets (yes, the 11am service is so popular that they have to give out tickets). We were the second group in line behind a family that was visiting from Jacksonville (small world)! We were able to get tickets pretty easily and then found seats in the huge beautiful cathedral. The service was amazing! The flowers were gorgeous! As the music was truly heavenly! It made me want to be at that kind of a service every Sunday morning. And most impressive, they even served communion to everyone there! Anyway, it was a wonderful Easter celebration and I would love to attend again! Happy Easter!

Riding Along in my....Metro Car

So I have noticed two things since being sans car and relying upon the Metro to get me everywhere. First of all, everyone in DC reads! I am always enthralled and amused when I look around and see what everyone is reading while we all travel to our various destinations. Last evening I saw a guy very into War and Peace (not a small book) and the guy right next to him was also serious about his book, The Barbie Chronicles. Hmmm, to each his own. The lady sitting next to me had printed out The Drudge Report to look over on her way home. It's alway interesting to see who is reading what. From best sellers, to classics, to whatever was available at the library, I think I've seen it all.

Now wanting to feel cool myself and blend in with the rest of the locals, I bought a couple of books online and was excited to have something to whip out on my train ride besides a text book. Sounded like a great idea until reality set in...there is a reason why I don't read in a car...I have terrible motion sickness! So after only five minutes, my stomache became very queesy! Realizing that Metro stations do not have bathrooms, and the bomb-proof tash cans are not accessible from the top, I promptly put down my book and tried to come to grips with the fact that I will continue to be the girl who just looks at what everyone else is reading and be pleasantly amused.

The other thing I have noticed is that when I used to drive my car, that was my time to listen to the radio. At home, if I play music, it is almost always off of my itunes. So the other night when John Mark and I were driving through town in his car, I totally started getting into a song. I was doing a little car dancing until the radio DJ promptly reminded me that wow, what a flashback from the early 90s. Whoops! I just assumed it was a remake and therefore cool again. It was embarrassing to say the least! It then came to my prompt attention that I have no idea what music is out there now. Just my 2.5 months of riding the metro has put me way behind the top 40! So now I am just relying that when other people post new artists onto their facebook pages, this is what I need to pay attention to...and maybe listen to some more internet radio.

New Flickr Account

Golden Gate Bridge-3, originally uploaded by weatherlyh.

Just wanted to let yall know that I have finally joined the 21st century and have set up a flickr account. Check out my new page when you get a chance. There are some photos from last year of my San Francisco trip you might enjoy. Since I used up all of my memory this month I will be deciding whether I want to just contribute monthly or upgrade my account. Please let me know if you have a flickr account!

The Perfect Sunday!

So even though there has been plenty of controversy over when St. Patrick's Day is this year, John Mark and I got to celebrate this Sunday in downtown DC where we watched the parade which featured lots of little Irish dancers. After the parade, we walked the mall from the Washington Monument to the US Capitol stopping at the Smithsonian Sculpture Garden. We then went to the US Botanic Garden where we spend way to long taking pictures of the most beautiful orchid exhibit. All in all, it was a fabulous Sunday afternoon in DC!

You know you live in a hip part of town when...

So on Saturday night JM and I were watching the movie Michael Clayton (which is a great movie by the way) and I noticed a flashing light from outside. Now, we live on the 14th floor, so a flashing light is not exactly common! We looked down and the entire street was blocked off. At first we thought it was a Hillary Clinton press conference- nope, it was a huge DUI check point! So of course I took pictures!

Spring Break '08

Spring Break '08! Oh yea! Ok, so really there was no amazing tropical vacation. With John Mark just starting his new job and our law school budget, I stayed in DC for half of the week and then went to visit my parents in Arkansas. My brother, James, is is flight school, so although there was no windsurfing, I had the awesome opportunity to go flying with my brother and his girlfriend Caitlin. It was honestly amazing and it was beautiful to see all of the snow all over Arkansas!

My Nephew is Awesome!

Enjoy! http://gallery.mac.com/iveyacarroll#100026

Gentlemen Take Note!

I want to put a plug in for my sister's friend Brooke Bryan who is a wholesale jewelry supplier. In other words, you can call her and get jewelry for half of the price you would pay in a store. Brooke only charges a small commission, but will actually pay you if you give her business (I wanted to plug her before I found that out). Anyway, she is available by phone at 334-319-3708. Brooke will also appraise the jewelry for twice the price you pay for it for your insurance records. I can personally attest that her prices are great! I have been looking for pearls and went to a reputable jeweler to price them. Brooke's price for the same piece of quality jewelry is less than half of the cost! So gentlemen, wherever you are in life, please take note!

We'll Be Around...

So this past week was my freak-out week! I had to sit my husband down and get him to decide on whether we are going to stay in the DC metro area or if this is just a transitional city. John Mark and I don't pretend to make long term plans since it has been very clear in our lives that God has much more in store than we could imagine. However, I have finally come to some cross roads in my life where decisions- long-term decisions have to be made...mainly: where do I take the bar?

For those of you not familiar with state bars, they are a pretty big commitment in that you have to take them in the state that you are going to be practicing law, it takes 3 months of crazy studying to pass, and if a state allows reciprocity at all, it takes a minimum of five years to either waive in or take an attorney's exam (much easier/less stressful than taking that state's bar exam). In a sentence...a bar is a long term commitment! Now, DC is nice is that it is the only state in US where you can waive in after six months. But even up here, the Virginia v. Maryland debate is a hard one.

So back to my freak out (the real reason you are reading this post)! After a long conversation (which included tears at some point) about what we want to do in life and where we want to be long term, John Mark and I decided for me to take the Virginia bar mainly because Virginia has the US intellectual property offices and right now we really want to stay close to where we live. All I have to do now is finish the application!

In celebration/curiosity of our decision, we spent this weekend looking at properties to buy. Mind you, it might be us craving our next project or watching too many episodes of "Flip this House," but we would like to either build or remodel/completely gut a house. So our version of looking at houses was mainly admiring the houses with boarded-up windows or mildewed siding. (See pics!) Maybe we are just suckers for before and after pictures! Anyway, it was a great weekend, getting to know more neighborhoods. Now all we have to do is sell that condo in Florida!

Hmmm, could be charming!

This one needs some serious work, but is huge and on a beautiful lot!