This is a copy of the email I sent out when we first arrived to DC. Most everyone has read it, but I just wanted to have all my correspondence in one place, so I copied and pasted it. :)


Friends and family, I wanted to let you all know that we have made it safely to Washington DC. I know many of you are like, what??? Yes, in the midst of planning our big move, I failed to let everyone know that Lee was offered a job in the national USDA/FSA office, and we accepted. So, I am sorry that most of you were left in the dark until now about our plans. It was an oversight of mine that I am not proud of. Okay, now about our adventure. We left Fort Stockton on Tuesday afternoon, the 10th. We arrived at Sharon's (Lee's mom) house that eve and had a great visit with her, like always. She made me rice krispie treats, and I shared with Lee, since that's the kind of wife I am. On Wednesday, we went through Abilene to see Scott (Lee's best bro) and Lee cried man-tears about missing his family. I, on the otherhand, remained completely stoic, cause that's just who I am.Then went to Ft. Worth and ate at a Freebird's for the last time in a long while (Any care package that includes a monster burrito will be accepted with open arms). Then we ended up in Texarkana that night. If you are ever in Texarkana, I recommend eating at the Ironwood Grill. Absolutely fabulous food and atmosphere. Thursday, we drove through Arkansas, crossed the Mississippi, had some good ol' Memphis bar-b-q, and landed in Nashville. We saw the Grand ol' opry, accidentally (we were actually going to the mall to do some quick shoppin, looked to our right and said, "wow! that's the grand ol' opry!") So that was really cool to see. We had dinner at Laura's house (my bff from ACU) and walked around her nice neighborhood. That night our sheets were covered in hair, so we had to call down and have someone bring us new ones. An unfortunate event in our otherwise excellent day. New sheets, no hair. Yay! Friday morn we got up way early and headed to Dollywood. It was just a few miles off our route, and we decided it would be cool to say that we have been there. So we rode the coasters, got wet on the rapids, and drove through pigeon forge, which is like Ruidoso on steroids. So much to do!!! There was at least 10 themed mini golf courses. There was a farm animal one, a haunted house one, and some others that i don't remember, but were still cool. We saw the veggie tales live show and I got to sing along, and wish that I had a kid, so I had an excuse and didn't look creepy, enjoying the veggietales as a grown woman. Anyways, we ended up in Roanoke, VA that night really late, exhausted by the amusement park adventure. Saturday we arrived in FAlls Church, VA at about 2. Our furnished apartment is on the top floor(14th) of a highrise. It was exciting, to look out our window and just be able to see the tops of trees. Since then, the grandeur of living on the top floor has greatly diminished. That night we went and saw Ironman, and it was really good. I spent most of the movie arguing with lee about who the actor was that plays osborne. I thought it was kurt russell, and I convinced him of it, but then we found out that it was jeff bridges. Who, in my defense, could be his twin, if you ask me, and When I was picturing kurt russell, it was actually jeff bridges in my head. So, I won. If you could follow my logic, you'd agree. Oh, and it rained. Sunday, we went to the church of Christ in falls church. It was encouraging and we met a group of young professionals and had lunch with them. We actually had Thai food, and I loved it!!! Living basically in Mexico, I've definitely developed an affinity for the hot and spicy. That afternoon, we decided that take the metro into DC, so that Lee could get comfy with the route. Neither of us had been on a subway before, so it took a while to catch on, but once we did, it was so fun! It takes Lee about 25 min. on the metro to get to work, and his personal bubble has been invaded several times already. A lady has fallen asleep on him, another one used his leg to brace herself when the metro would come to a stop. He thinks it is just the way things are done. I think he's just a little too handsome for his own good and these women are taking advantage. :) Monday, Lee went to work, and I got up because it was already really light outside, even though it was before 7 o'clock. I found out we can't have internet in our apartment, because we'll only be here a month, so I've been sitting in the lobby a ton, searching for jobs and permanent housing on their public wireless network. I went grocery shopping, and made Lee blueberry muffins. I had a strong lead for a job yesterday, but after lee looked into it,he discovered it was just a sneaky way of saying" door-to-door saleswoman", so I am not going to that interview. I'm glad my husband is smart enough to help me weed out the shady jobs! There was a huge thunderstorm Monday and all the power on this part of time went out. This is when I decided living on the 14th floor was a bad idea, because the elevators were out, so I had to walk up 14 flights of stairs (actually, only 13, because there is no 13th floor) with lee's laptop, my big ol' purse full of library books, and a 12 pack of Mountain Dew, for Lee. I definitely had to take a nap after that exhausting excursion. Plus, at some point, I lost my building access card, and it will be 50 bucks to replace it. So our life here has been up and down. I get lonely, knowing no one in town and having no job or no place to live permanently. But, then I talk to my mommy or sisters (or Lee), and they remind me that my life is good, and I'm not expected have all the answers right now. In fact, my job this month is to find all this stuff. But it gets overwhelming and I just want to go shopping and forget my troubles. But, with a $50 access card hanging over my head, I can't justify the shopping. Yet. WE'll see about next week. I'd love to hear from anyone, so please write me back and let me know how you are doing! Love,Alecia( and lee)