So, as I'm typing up this blog post, I've scheduled it a little behind since I'm already home and unpacked from my two week holiday in the East Coast.

Since I didn't have my A5 Filofax with me during the trip nor did I bring my personal size one due to trying to travel light with my carry-on tote bag (I had a dSLR camera, lenses, iPad Mini, and such in my Michael Korrs tote bag, it won't hold anymore than what I had put in it), my Personal Size Saffiano stayed behind. I did however have an app called Day One in my iPad Mini which is almost like a travel journal. It has GPS, weather, etc loaded on to each diary entry I make.

I know it seems a bit odd that I'm posting the latter half of the week, but there wasn't much during the first three days as I was at Lake Tahoe in Nevada, holed up in the room trying to write and study for the CSET exam that I need to retake. The only exciting yet nerve-wracking thing that happened was that I thought I lost my iPhone and that it was stolen. I spent at least half an hour combing a field by a rec centre (I had some of the employees helping me look) since the Find My iPhone option is telling me my phone is in a field somewhere. Turns out, it was back in the hotel room after all.

Anyway, back to the week.

It is my birthday week and for my birthday, Michael bought me a trip to the East Coast (it just so happens that he's got a conference to go to in Boston, so it works out). We left California on the day of my birthday on a redeye flight to Washington D.C., which was our first stop. The flight was delayed by a few hours and we luckily made our connecting flight in Atlanta just in time.

We arrived in D.C. the next day at around 9am. The original plan was to drop off our stuff and make our way towards National Mall since check in isn't until 4:00 PM. Our hotel was about a mile away from the White House, so it was perfect. We didn't need a taxi to get to the National Mall. 

As we're going through our stuff, emptying out our carry-on bags to put into our suitcase for our walk, the hotel got a room ready for us in record time. The woman at the reception desk also gave us a free upgrade to a suite, which meant we have a kitchenette. Michael was excited since we're able to get three days worth of groceries. He was more concerned for breakfast.

So, with getting our room early, he and I decided to take a nap since we didn't sleep at all on the plane. The couple behind us were bothersome. We napped for a few hours and finally getting up at around two o'clock to head down to get lunch and walk around the National Mall.

I'm not going to go into detail of what we saw since it's already written in the journal page, which is posted below. Needless to say, by the time we finished walking one half of the National Mall, we were dead tired and was glad that we had bought some food at the grocery store to heat up in the hotel.

I'm also going to blog about some of the food places Michael and I went to on this trip.

This week, I've been running all sorts of errands. Even with that, it's still a light week.

I've also started counting down until Downton Abbey's premier. Unfortunately, it's not going to air in the States until next year, but I'm fortunate enough to know an expat like myself who's still got accounts active in the UK and is gracious enough to let me watch it on her dime.

Also, the deck is still currently in the works. It's such a big patio deck that it takes a couple of weeks for two people to get it done. It's all the cleaning, sanding and then painting, but this week was the last week of working on it and it's done. We've been pushing through it since it's Michael's mum's birthday and we always have a barbecue dinner at our place.

What about you? How was your week?

This week has been has been relatively light and easy. My main focus is to continue to look for employment and with the economy in the States being in such a horrid state and I don't necessarily live in a big city ... well, it's big in their standards, jobs are hard to come by.

This week's quote is from T.S. Elliot. "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." There really isn't a rhyme or reason to which quote I choose to use every week.

It's a month before my holiday to the East Coast, which I'm excited about. I've started to compile a list of what outfits I'd like to bring. Michael has been reminding me on a daily basis that we can't bring too much since the airline charges us $25 for the first bag and $35 for the second checked bag. If I can't fit it all in one suitcase, then I can't bring it. There's also the issue of weight. If I'm to bring one bag, I have to leave enough room for the stuff I'm going to be buying whilst I'm there.

The only busy day this week was on Wednesday where I catered desserts to about 40+ people for a meeting. I've made chocolate mint whoopie pies and brownies. Other than that, Michael and I have been prepping to paint the back deck patio of the house.

My week was light. How was yours?