Mr. and Mrs. Osborne Go to Washington: December in DC

Hello Blog World! So apparently something has been wrong with my account- I have posted several times the last few weeks, but apparently they aren’t actually posting for you all to read! I’ve done some digging and apparently they all went into my drafts folder. SO….. this is going to be an extremely long post – I’m going to combine everything I thought I posted into one for your reading pleasure!

The Day I Got Married to the United States Government

As part of my graduate program, we are strongly encouraged/required to work during the day and then go to school at night. Since we didn’t move to DC until August, I missed the big rush to get a government job for the fall. I’ve spent most of the fall searching and applying for spring jobs/internships without too much luck. As much as I love our government, speed and getting back to applicants is not their strong point. BUT, right before Thanksgiving I applied for an internship at USAID (the United States Agency for International Development). Over the break, I had 3 different interviews before they let me know that I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!
Unfortunately, they were extremely short-handed, so my “spring” internship started December 6. USAID is located right in the middle of DC in the Ronald Reagan building, literally just a short walk from the White House. When you get to the building, you have to go through security to get into the building, where you go through security again, and then go through security again to get on the elevator. It is insane!
On my first day, I spent most of the morning in training sessions learning the rules of working for the government. At the end of training, they hand out a sheet of paper that they call your “marriage certificate to the US government.” You pretty much sign your life away forever… seriously…Especially with the whole Wikileaks fiasco that has gone on recently, they are pretty serious about making sure nothing gets out. I’d write about everything else I learned in training… but I’m pretty sure that is illegal.
After training, we got our official government Id’s. I’d post a picture of it… but again, I think that is illegal. My ID gets me into the building and past all security checkpoints and gets me into all of the offices I need.
My job is actually to work in the Administrator’s office. The Administrator is the head of USAID, appointed by President Obama. His office is actually relatively small- it is his and the Deputy Administrator’s office and then 8 assistants (including myself). It is SUPER fast paced and you just never know who is going to walk through the doors. I’d talk about some of the cool people I’ve talked to… but again, I think that is illegal. To be honest, I’m not exactly sure what I’m allowed to say about my job, so I better stop there.
Just know that I LOVE my job. It’s hard and working 40-50 hours a week and taking finals was pretty taxing. It’s funny how fast the day goes when you love what you are doing. If you are interested in USAID and what all they are about, here is a link to the website: http://www.usaid.gov/
Here is a picture of what I looked like the first day I went to work for the US government

December in DC

December in DC has been a complete blur. Between work and finishing up the semester, I have just been a bit overwhelmed. Plus, winter is here... and the cold weather has just seemed to suck the life out of me!
I thought it would be cool to live somewhere with 4 seasons, but it turns out I really don’t like winter. The metro is really only 100-200 yards from our apartment, but the walk is miserable. The best way I can describe it is when you ride on a ski lift and the wind is just burning your face – that completely miserable feeling of just trying to get to the end of the lift, only we actually have to walk its awful.
I have learned how to distinguish between the temperature. If it is in the 40s, it’s cool but I don’t need my coat. If it is in the 30s, I need my coat but I’m okay. If it hits the 20s, I need gloves for my frozen fingers. When it hits the teens, my gloves aren’t even enough to keep my warm. When it hit single digits, I was thinking up every excuse I could to not leave the apartment. The weather is a lot like college station, the wind blows so hard that the windchill is always 10 degrees colder than it is outside. Every time I complain about how cold it is, the locals all tell me to wait until February. Great… looking forward to it.
Our church also does a Living Christmas Tree every December. We went to dinner and then to a show of it with our friends the Wilson from our Sunday school class. I am so bummed that I forgot my camera that night, but it was super fun.
Caleb and I also have found a new guilty pleasure – in old town Alexandria there is a chocolate restaurant- yes, that’s right- a restaurant that serves nothing but chocolate. They have truffles, ice cream, chocolate bars, hot chocolate and a who variety of other treats. We like to go and get hot chocolate there. I laugh every time because their different hot chocolates are named after Hollywood divas. I always get the Doris Day, which is milk and dark chocolate and marshmellows. Caleb gets the Charo, dark chocolate and caramel. Hearing him order it is absolutely hilarious.
December has pretty much meant nothing but studying but there were a few of the fun things we have been up to.

Bake Sale

During my first week of work I found out that my office was having a bake sale to raise money. I was BEYOND excited because I love baking. I'm not all that great, but I love doing it. Plus, it was a great way to de-stress duing my studying for finals. I slaved all weekend to make a chocolate chip cheesecake, cookies and cream fudge, and four different types of truffles (cocoa, cinnamon and sugar, coconut and nut). I also attempted regular fudge and divinity (twice) but those didn't turn out... We just won't talk about those.

Anyways, I was so proud when I walked into the office Monday morning with all of my handmade goodies. I was horrified to find what these "Northerners" think a bakesale means. Most people bought a generic grocery store box of hard cookies or those slimy pieces of variously flavored "loaf" that you can buy at the store too. How was this bakesale worthy? There was no baking in this! I'm not sure what is worse, store bought goodies, or the charred black cookies whose flavor was unidentifiable or the sweet potato pie that was completely frozen in the middle.
Anyways, needless to say, my awesome desserts stood out and were quite popular. As the new kid in the office, I also was charged with the duty of standing at our table and selling the goodies. It was great fun! I got to feel Christmasy for three hours, avoided my inbox and work assignments, and got to network with people throughout USAID.
I feel like I made a great impression with my bakesale goodies. Poor Caleb was disappointed though that I didn't have any leftovers to bring home for him. I guess there is always next time my office decides to hold a bakesale : )

Happy Holidays!

I have to admit that I have been extremely jealous looking at all of my friends' facebooks and blogs at all of their super cute Christmas decorations. I am neither crafty nor do I have many decorations, so our house lacks a bit of Christmas cheer. I know that it takes times to collect Christmas decorations and ornaments, but it is so hard to be patient, plus where in the world does everyone find all this cute stuff?!?! I tried MJ Designs but seriously struck out. So, our tree is decorated with all of my mom's misfit ornaments that she didn't want anymore- so you can guess how lovely they are.... Here is our tree (which we did actually buy this year)

A Mr. and Mrs. Claus that I salvaged from my grandparents' garage

Candle angels I stole from my mom...

Christmas plate

Hand-me-down wreath

Before I show the next two pictures, I need to explain. A few weeks ago I blogged about my grand ambition to make us stockings this year. The reason I haven't updated on their status is that I hate them. They are horrible... tacky... ick! I made Scarlett's and started Caleb's but didn't even attempt mine I was so upset with them. So, I will show you what I have, but needless to say these will not be our stockings in the future...

Here is the ribbon tree my gran made for me... it got a little squished in the move

I was pretty down on the Christmas spirit, but on Thursday we got a great Christmas surprise... 2 inches of snow! It was great! It literally snowed all day, and by snow I actually mean snow and not sleet, and it actually stuck! Kids were making snowmen. I loved it! When I left for work that morning, the sky was clear, when I got home at 3, this is what the view from our balcony looked like:

I’ll Be Home for Christmas

One of my absolute favorite Christmas songs is "I'll Be Home for Christmas." I'm not really sure why, I've always lived so close to home during the holidays. But this year it has taken on special meaning for me. As I've had to decorate my own tree and bake my own Christmas goodies, I've really been missing home- not only my own in Dallas but Caleb's family as well. I love following my sisters-in-laws blogs, seeing the kids all dressed up in their Christmas clothes and hearing about how they are getting ready for Santa Claus. Being away from home during the holidays has made it even more difficult to focus on work and finals. BUT, I made it to the end of the semester and in the morning, Caleb, Scarlett and I will begin our 1100 trek to Little Rock. So....

I'm dreamin' tonight of a place I love

Even more then I usually do

And although I know it's a long road back

I promise you

I'll be home for Christmas

You can count on me

Please have snow and mistletoe

And presents under the tree

Christmas Eve will find me

Where the love light beams

I'll be home for Christmas

Home Sweet Home

We made it! Despite a very eventful drive, we made the 1100 mile trip to Little Rock in about 15 hours. There was snow on the ground all the way to Nashville, but the roads were completely clear.

Since we have been home we have slept, ate delicious home-cooked meals, gone to a Christmas concert at the church, hung-out with family, ice-skated, and celebrated 3 birthdays!

Me and Ellie

Caleb and Mollie

Caleb and Ellie

We celebrated Kelsey's birthday....

Ellie's birthday...

And Caleb's birthday!!!

All three of the birthday kids!

With their cakes

Blowing out the candles

Being extra careful... sometimes Noah spits when he blows : )

Ellie opening her gift from me and Caleb. We made her, her own "Top Secret Spy Bag" with a variety of what she called "Agency" gear

Wearing one of her "disguise" mustaches

Micah and Kelsey came in on Monday so now we have 3 dogs running around like a little pack. They get along... for the most part, but they LOVE to bark : ) Either way, it makes for a full house.