They let us where?

Nick and I were lucky enough to score 2 different tours of the White House. That's right, I said TWO!!!

The first tour was of the East Wing. They didn't allow cameras.....so no pictures. Each room is closely monitored by burly secret service men...who know all the finer points of the White House china, marble fireplaces and first lady portraits.

On Saturday we were treated to the Garden Tour. This happens once a year, so we lucked out. And we had fabulous friends that hooked us up with tickets :-)

You can see on the map where we were allowed to go.

The obligatory "I'm in front of the white house" pose.

And another for good measure.

The White House putting green. I could use one of these! It's awfully flat....

This was a nice angle.

Aww, that's fun.

Protecting the kitchen garden and all that delicious swiss chard.

View of the monument.

We could also visit the Children's garden....but the line was REALLY long....so we opted to bypass the garden.

Thank goodness there was a sign.

Skype

Skype is awesome. You can video chat for free as long as you have internet. My sister is currently traveling the world so Skype is the only way to talk to her - she has an emergency cell phone but there's a delay and it's really annoying.

So I leave Skype "on" just in case Stace needs to a get a hold of us. But when you leave skype on, you get random people that try and skype with you. Like:

Cheating_wives

Yep, that's the screen name. They also provided a link to a website with the same name. Awesome.

Just got another from Moscow Dating. My screen name must imply that I'm looking for a woman.

DC!

We are currently in DC for the Kure/Papadales nuptials.

Today we are lucky enough to get a tour of the White House. They want you practically naked. No bags, no camera. Basically, bring your ID and nothing else.

I'll report back....no pictures, just words. Since we can't take our camera. I've got my fingers crossed that we'll see an Obama. I'm not picky. I'll take any of them :-)

Dancing in the aisles

I snapped this photo during the concert. See the guy? He was a big guy, easily over 6 feet and nice broad shoulders....not your typical Swifty fan. He was taking his daughter/sister/niece to the concert - or using her as an excuse attend the concert and not look out of place.

Either way, he was singing along to Gloriana, Kellie Pickler and Taylor and it was adorable. He was bobbing his head and clearly enjoying himself. I love it.

Taylor!!!

And finally the main event! Quick side story - we went to the Spaghetti Factory before the show - who doesn't love the Spaghetti Factory? So we get there and it's PACKED - lots of moms and teeny bopper daughters. Being the geniuses that we are, we check the bar - EMPTY! Perfect.....but we started a trend and pretty soon the place was packed...with KIDS! Apparently, as long as they don't sit at the actual bar, they are allowed in the bar. Ugh...really detracts from the atmosphere when there are screaming kids and parents all around. But it was fine. We got our French bread, mizithra cheese pasta and ice cream. We were happy.

The fans going crazy....note to self...my music taste is somewhere in line with 12-14 year old girls. Oops.

She opened with You Belong With Me, dressed in her band outfit. I have a special place in my heart for band nerds.

She had an awesome stage made of video screens. The screens changed for every song and looked pretty darn cool.

And this is why I love Taylor Swift. Mid way through the show they pause and put up a silly video of Taylor and how she writes songs about guys and includes their names. Then, she appears 1 section over from us, singing in the crowd. A security NIGHTMARE, but absolutely awesome! She continues to sing through the crowd, hugging everyone in sight and then ends up on a stage almost directly in front of us.

She then continues singing on this stage (those suckers with "front row tickets" were probably pissed). Then she went back up to the real stage - all while hugging everyone she passed by.

For her encore, she came out wearing a San Jose Sharks jersey with her name on it.

Look closely. Do you see the word "NO"? It's actually a curtain of water and the words flow through the water. It was pretty cool.

Probably one of the best concerts I've seen. Even if she went way too far with the head banging/hair flipping drama. And I know there was some internet chatter a while back about how she's not all that great live. But she sounded great to us!

Kellie Pickler

Say what you will about Kellie Pickler - former American Idol contestant - but she rocked it. She was nursing a broken foot so there wasn't any dancing....maybe for the better?

I have a theory. Idol contestants are awesome. Why? The nature of the contest requires them to sing AWESOME in front of a live audience - on their first try. I've seen Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler, and they have all been fantastic. They pretty much sound like the CD - or better.

She was adorable and as sweet as she could be with her little southern accent.

Like I said, I wasn't a huge fan, but she won me over.

Run a half or full marathon...you know you want to

Nike Women's Marathon

When: Sunday, October 17th, 2010
Where: Starts at Union Square, San Francisco at 7AM
Cost: Half $115, Full $135

Here's the deal, lots of people want to do this race, so it is a random drawing. You give them your credit card info and then find out in a few weeks if you're in or not. That's how I got suckered into it last year :-) But I'm glad I did. It was a ton of fun (and that's saying a lot...coming from a girl who's built more for sprinting and jumping than long distance running). The random drawing registration ends on Friday, April 16th.

Before I started training last year, I maxed out at 3 miles. I only got up to 10 before race day and had no problem. This race is also great because there are a ton of walkers! So if you want to take it easy during your first half marathon, this is the one for you. At the same time, there are some pretty crazy athletes at the front of the pack for those looking for a personal record and a challenging run. The course is beautiful (albeit hilly) and it's a pretty motivating run with tons of spectators cheering you on.

For those of you in the bay area, Nike holds training runs leading up to the race. They have lots of giveaways and let you try out their shoes. They provide water, gatorade and luna snacks along the trail during long runs and there are pace leaders to help keep you running nice and even.

So what are you waiting for!

I want to register!