It's Official! (Again)

Happy NEW YEAR!!! Brian and I just got back after being away from home for almost an entire month, and it is nice to be home.

The wedding was SO beautiful... it was truly everything we wanted it to be, I was so happy. My only regret is that we didn't videotape any of it, and I would have loved to have had our ceremony at least on video. When we were saying the vows that we wrote, Brian was in tears, and it was so meaningful. I was crying, he was crying, everyone was crying... it was so special. I never thought that after being married for a year I would be so emotional, but it was even more meaningful because our love for each other has grown so much through this last year. Standing up in front of everyone that we love so much and declaring to the world that even after a year of marriage, we still want to spend the rest of our lives loving each other, I was even more certain that he is and always will be my soulmate, the one the Lord created me for. God is so good. Hold out girls, don't settle for anyone but the absolute best that God has for you... it is SO worth the wait!! I never imagined that I could love someone as much as I love Brian, and I never imagined that we would actually love each other more as time goes on... it truly is incredible!

Then we danced the night away to our AMAZING swing band in the candlelight, and had such a great time seeing eveyone that we haven't seen in so long. It was wonderful. The only other frustrating thing was that we didn't get a single bite to eat the entire time, so we actually ended up driving through In 'N Out on our way to the hotel!! LOL!

I'm going to try to post some pictures soon of the wedding and honeymoon... We love you all so much and it was so great to see all of you that made it the wedding!! Open invitation if you ever want to visit DC!

xoxo
Mrs. Carolyn Wise (officially now!)

I Guess I'm Finally One of "Them"

This is a shout-out to all my fabulous DC friends now scattered abroad... DC misses you!!

You Know You're From Washington DC When...

You say you're from DC, but you actually live in VA or MD but are too tired to explain where. You don't consider exploding man hole covers to be an unusual occurrence. You know where the Pentagon really is but never bother to correct anyone about its location. When it takes you 45 minutes to drive 3 miles on I-66, 95, 395, 495, 50, 123, 29, or 270, it's a pretty good day. There are at least fifteen ways to get everywhere and you know which way to go based on the weather, time of day, current political climate, terrorism road closures, and whether you are coming or going. You pay more money in parking tickets in a year than you do in medical bills, college costs and rent combined. You know that driving through Georgetown, you will hear the music of the car next to you louder than you can hear your own. "I got stuck behind a motorcade" is a common and real excuse for being late. "Finding a parking space" actually becomes an appointment on your calendar. (E.g.. 7:00-8:00 Gym, 8:30-9:00PM - find a parking space, 9:00-10:30PM - Dinner reservations.) You've never once been to Wal-Mart and don't even know if there is one. When you say you're going to the mall and you don't mean shopping. You never refer to the 'Metro' as the 'subway'. You elbow tourists out of the way on the Metro escalators to "gently" remind them to WALK LEFT, STAND RIGHT. Going to work early means being there by 9:00AM. You don't bat an eye at 500 politicians and businessmen in suits running like their lives depended on it just to catch a Metro that will be followed by another in 90 seconds. You call it Tar-jhay, not Target, and are well aware that the one in Alexandria is just a "tad different". When Washington National Airport is and will always be "WASHINGTON NATIONAL", not "Reagan National". You can tell by people's cars where they live and maybe even what neighborhood. You've claimed that there's nothing to do on a weekend night even when you have the entire nation's capitol to explore. You have the Metro map memorized, yet act like you don't know when someone asks you how to get to Metro Center. You meet someone else who says they're from the DC area and you realize they live two hours away from you. You notice that there's been construction on the same stretch of highway for the past 5 years and you've never see anyone working on it. You know you've crossed into Northern Virginia, without ever seeing a sign, only because your speedometer goes from 60 to 0. You know that Vietnam is no longer in the South Pacific, it's now been re-located to Seven Corners. The few times you have gotten lost in DC you have somehow ALWAYS ended up in Anacostia and every road out somehow leads back to Anacostia. You realize that I-395 is Northern Virginia's version of NASCAR. There is no such thing as North, South, East, or West on the beltway, it's just go "that" way!(Inner circle / outer circle) You go anywhere on the Eastern Shore, Rehoboth, Dewey, Ocean City, Skyline Drive, or the Outer Banks for vacation and everyone you meet is from DC Snow means rain to you Ice on the roads just means that you pay more attention to other cars, but still go 75 mph on the highways You can see the national cathedral from almost anywhere You know at least 2 rowers You know that Georgetown is NOT only a school You consider Northern VA to be in no way similar to southern VA You know which bridges to cross to get to Maryland or VA You actually know what goes on in Dupont circle You can't go to Tysons Mall without seeing someone you know!! You have a few friends who don't know what their parents do...It's Top Secret government work. People don't ask you if Chevy Chase is named after the actor. You can harmonize perfectly with the alert for "Doors Closing" on the Metro You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from DC.

Aww Fresno

I am thoroughly entertained... :)

You Know You're From Fresno When...

You have to explain to friends from out of town what animal a "Tri-tip" comes from. You think salsa goes on everything. Drivers think a red light is just a suggestion. Your out-of-town friends start to visit after October, but clear out before the end of April. The best restaurants in town start with "El" or "Los." You think $400 a month rent is way too high. You know a swamp cooler is not a happy hour drink. People break out coats when the temperature drops below 70. The pool can be warmer than you are. You realize that Valley Fever isn't a disco dance. You still don't know your way around downtown. Anywhere "and 99" is too far away. You think you're better than people from Clovis. Someone mentions the Fair and your thoughts immediately turn to Cinnamon Rolls. You drive just as fast on a sunny day in June as a foggy day in December. The whole town shuts down at 11:00. You complain about how boring Fresno is, but still make fun of people from Sanger, Selma, Reedley, etc. You hadn't been to Manchester Center in 10 years until the movie theater opened. You never knew how you managed before River Park. Someone from out-of-town talks about how foggy it is and tell them, "Just wait." You know not to take Shaw at 8, 12, or 5. You swear there was an orchard there last week, where now there are houses. You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Fresno.

Only in DC

...and then there are times when I can't imagine living anywhere else. Today I sang in my first concert with the Choral Arts Society of Washington (www.choralarts.org), with the National Symphony Orchestra, in the Kennedy Center. Wow, I am still not over it. The soloists were phenomenal, the crowd was great, Norman is amazing, the whole concert was surreal. I could hardly believe I was standing up there performing.

Yet another thing to add to the list of things I will never be able to experience if I move back to Fresno...

...and the debate goes on.

Wow

Blogging... I guess it was inevitable that I would start one eventually. I really don't have any great aspirations for this one. I see it as merely a chance to share all of those wonderful things I think but don't say.

Brian and I moved into our new house 4 weeks ago, and there are still boxes everywhere, scattered through the hallways and in all the wrong closets. Aretha sure sings good cleaning music. I think I will go back to cleaning now. I can't stand clutter.

I promise this will get better. I'm just a little worn out right now. And because I'm basically OCD, I just spent 2 hours trying to figure out how to change background colors with html. Good times.

The Good Wife's Guide

This is just TOO funny not to pass along... how far we've come!

Inauguration Day

So today we (Brian, Denee and yours truly) went to the Second Inauguration of George Walker Bush. It sounds so very simple when you say it like that, but in actuality it was quite an ordeal just getting there.

I never thought I'd say this, but I really have come to dislike tourists... a lot. It's bad enough when everyone who actually lives in the DC metro area (and knows their way around) has to ride Metro to get anywhere because all the roads are closed. But throw in a few thousand tourists and you have one fun morning.

Once we squeezed onto the third train that came through, changed trains, got off and walked to the Green Gate, waited another hour to get screened by TSA workers, and finally got into the people corral created for us, I--being only 5'3" "tall"--couldn't see a darn thing.

I keep telling myself it was worth it to be able to say I went to the Inauguration, but then I looked at the people at the party on the top of the DOL building who were not cold, tired, hungry or irritated, and had the best view in the city, I decided that if I am not important enough by the time the next one of these roles around, I'm skipping the trek and watching it on CSPAN. :)