Uptown girls

Today was Connie's bridal shower and it was quite the fancy affair - we had high tea at the Mayflower in downtown Washington. I'm somewhat of a tea connoisseur, so I was very excited about it. And I love dressing up and going to luxury hotels.

So we order our tea and they bring out the food, and normally at high tea they bring a big tray of stuff for everyone to share. Not this place. We all got our own individual tray. So. Much. Food.

And the silverware had an engraving of the Mayflower.

It was a fun afternoon out with the girls, and I really enjoyed meeting Connie's friends and family.

Updates

A quick word on business matters....I've upgraded my blog and I am now able to add the fancy things you see on the left. I'll try to keep up a list of books I am currently reading or have recently read, along with a link to their Amazon page should you wish to learn more about them. Everything else should be pretty self-explanatory.

It's official!

My season tickets arrived today (finally)! Aren't they glorious?

Rockin' for the troops

Last night Lacey and I went to a benefit for the USO at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was very enjoyable; good music, fun people-watching, delicious food. There were quite a few military personnel in attendance. And I'd like to say thanks to the two Marines who gave up their seats for us - God bless 'em.

The headline act was a band called The FBI (they all wore dark suits and sunglasses and had their own "security" detail). Congressman Peterson showed up and played a few songs with the band. (According to Lacey, he's the chair of the ag. committee.) Once again, I was without my fancy camera, so I took a grainy picture with my phone. The Congressman is on the right.


If you want to help out our troops, please consider donating to the USO. They provide a lot of goods and services for soldiers (and their families) stationed at home and abroad. It's the least we can do to show our appreciation.

Sad news

Sigh. Today it was announced that my "boyfriend," pitcher John Patterson, is engaged to another woman. And not just any woman. She's Miss D.C. 2005 (don't get me started on the fact that she's actually from Florida). Guess I'll have to start stalking Ryan Zimmerman now....he's much cuter anyway.

Goodies

This is my favorite time of year (well, almost). Spring is on the horizon. The weather is getting warmer. Soon the flowers will be blooming and the birds will be singing. Baseball is starting up again. And it's also time for some of my favorite culinary treats: Girl Scout cookies and Easter candy.

I got my shipment of cookies yesterday from my niece (thanks, Gracie!). I like to stock up since we only get them once a year. I'm trying to pace myself, but it's not easy.

And then there's the Easter candy. Oh, how I love Easter candy. So far I've eaten about ten Cadbury cream eggs and three packages of the mini eggs. Don't shake your head at me. I'm not proud of it.

Editor's note: Since my mother apparently thought I was a huge glutton when she read this, I need to clarify that I did not in fact eat all of that candy in one sitting. I just meant that's how much I've eaten since the Easter candy went on sale (you know, two weeks before Valentine's Day). And I'm proud to say that I haven't had one piece of Easter candy in the past week! Of course, I do need to stop at CVS on my way home....

Book Review: Ghost Soldiers

I recently finished reading Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides, which I got as a Christmas present (thanks, Cute Paul!). It follows the story of "WWII's greatest rescue mission." Now, I don't often read war stories because I sometimes find all the details of tactical maneuvering to be slightly boring, but this book was excellent. The author is not an academic historian, so the book reads like a fast-paced story targeted to the layperson, rather than a dry recounting and analysis of events. I found myself unable to put the book down towards the end and continually wondering "what's going to happen next?!"

Ghost Soldiers tells the story of the liberation of Cabanatuan in the Philippines, one of the largest World War II POW camps in the Pacific. The majority of the inmates were survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March. Sides begins his narrative by detailing the horrific treatment of Allied POWs by the Japanese. The POWs were treated little better than the Nazis treated the Jews during the Holocaust. The Japanese would rather exterminate their prisonors than have them rejoin their countrymen. They disregarded the Geneva Convention for the most part. This is why the US Army devised a plan to rescue the prisoners of Cabanatuan; there was little or no chance the prisoners would survive the war without oustide help. 121 Army Rangers were hand-picked for the expedition. They needed brilliant leadership and fearless men to execute the task.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the steps of planning the mission and kept wondering how exactly they would pull off something on such a grand scale. There were a few glitches along the way, but in the end it was a huge success and the men came home as heroes. They were expected to become legends in American history that would never be forgotten. However, not long after the rescue mission, landmarks such as Iwo Jima and the dropping of the atomic bomb overshadowed the event and it seemed to fade from the collective memory. Which is sad, really.

I highly recommend this book. It demonstrates the epitome of courage, patriotism, and the triumph of the human spirit. These men should not be forgotten.