Newness

So, the past few weeks, lots of new and exciting things happened in the Lyles household. John started his new job as a pediatric MD resident, we met a lot of new and wonderful people, and I worked alongside one of my dearest friends as a new director for Senior High 1 at Camp Sumatanga. In the midst of all of that newness, we celebrated something else that was very important...Henry Wyatt Lyle's 4th birthday!! We surprised him with new water and food bowls, toys, gourmet organic food (in addition to a bag of his regular frou frou food) and of course, treats. He was so happy when he found his goodies. We are so thankful to have such a sweet spirited dog. Call me a crazy dog mom if you like, but Henry holds a special place in our hearts.

Later that week, John and I went to a cookout for the new residents held in the beautiful Cleveland Park neighborhood. It was so nice to meet all of John's coworkers and hear all about where they were from and their interest in pediatrics. Plus, getting to walk along the treelined streets and ooh and ahh over the stunning historic homes was a pretty sweet bonus. That Friday, we met up with the residents again for happy hour at Meridian Pint in the Columbia Heights neighborhood. It was a casual gathering but ended up being perfect especially since the location for our dinner date was right next door. I purchased a Groupon for a little authentic Mexican place called Taqueria Distrito Federal a while back and had heard nothing but good things about via sites like Urbanspoon and Yelp. I was a little taken aback by the hole in the wall dive, but the food shocked me even more only because it was absolutely delicious. John and I had quite the feast & shared a steak burrito served with rice and beans, 3 tacos (beef, chicken, and goat), and two tamales (beef and chicken). That with a bottle of Mexican coke was delicioso and made me feel as if I had stepped across the border. 

The next day I started my adventure to sweet home Alabama. It started out a little rough since for the first time in my life, I missed my flight. That meant that I had to spend 7 hours in the D.C. Reagan International Airport. Yikes! However, thanks to some great friends and family, I made it to Camp Sumatanga by dinner. I ended up having to fly into Atlanta instead of Birmingham, but with the help of my sorority sister, Leigh Anne, & my mom and her friend Nancy- I made it! Plus, Leigh Anne treated me to my absolute favorite, Chik-fil-a. I mean, I'm pretty sure that a spicy chicken sandwich (and their new chargrilled chicken sandwich-yum!) with a diet lemonade can cure any form of the blues. 

This year I had the amazing opportunity to work with one of my very best friends, Andrew, and co-direct Senior High 1 at Camp Sumatanga. Camp has always been a special place to me for many reasons, but Senior High 1 holds a special place in my heart because I attended that specific week of camp as a camper. The week consisted of a lot of work, laughter, sweat, love, and fellowship and I absolutely can't wait to do it again! Seeing the smiles on those campers faces is something that will stick with me forever and motivate me each and every day. They even gave me my very own pet rock as a parting gift when I had to leave mid week to get back to D.C. 

When my flight came in, I realized that since I hadn't been home on Sunday to make our grocery run- our fridge was empty. So, I searched Groupon and Living Social until I came across Indique in Cleveland Park. I had seen it when we walked through the neighborhood the week before & was thrilled that we now had an excuse to go back to that area of town. We had another feast since we had $40 to spend (even though we only paid $20). We split the vegetable samosa chaat, Lamb Rogan Josh, & Vegetable Jhalfrezi. It was a ton of food, but hit the spot after being on a plane al day.  If you're looking for a good Indian place in D.C., I would definitely suggest checking it out. 

On Friday, we hung out with John's intern class again at Nationals Park for the Braves vs. Nats game. Unfortunately we lost, but the Nats ended up winning the series despite Friday night's game. Woo! While we were there, we grabbed dinner at Boxed Frites. Their gourmet fries and dogs came highly recommended by a co-worker of mine and boy was she right! Never have I ever had a BLT dog or garlic fries with rosemary ranch dipping sauce, but it made for an all American ball park dinner if I do say so myself. 

Like my earrings?? They could be yours. They're part of the line that my friend Abbie is making in Nicaragua and selling through me!! 

The next day, we slowly made our way towards Pennsylvania Avenue for the Safeway BBQ Battle. I'm not even going to lie, I was highly disappointed and we left way earlier than we planned. Want to know why?? There was no BBQ! Yes, that's right. There was plenty of fairground food, free samples of everything but BBQ including tons of highly processed foods (Hormel's new meat tubs, sparkling water, and frozen meatballs---yack!), tents full of tourism advertisements, and other random junk. However, when we approached some of the contenders for the BBQ battle, we were told that the BBQ was only for the judges and that there would be no samples. Robert Randolph and the Family Band was scheduled to play later that night, but between the rain, the gross food, and the ridiculousness of it all- we left early. So, word to the wise- don't waste your money. *Stepping off my soapbox. Even with all of that negativity, I did enjoy spending time with John and taking in some pretty beautiful views of the Capitol. 

 

On the bright side, the evening wasn't completely lost. After running back home for a quick change of clothes, we went to a rooftop party hosted by one of John's new coworkers. The views were incredible and all of the amazing conversations and laughter more than made up for the lame-o BBQ Battle. 

Even with all of the newness and change, I am starting to feel more at home here in D.C. Of course, going back home to Alabama and seeing the stars and enjoying the silence of the wilderness was so nice and made me appreciate where I come from. Cheers to another great couple of weeks in the life of the District Darling.