16 years

A lot has been going on in the last month. When I picked Troy up from the airport after his tour, we enjoyed some time in DC. To celebrate our 16-year anniversary, we ate out a lovely restaurant called Cedar. It was quite a treat. He had the "Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin with goat cheese grits, applewood bacon and roasted cherries" and I had the "Grilled Local Rockfish with mixed spring vegetables and Frantoia extra virgin olive oil." Yum. Makes me hungry just thinking about it!

Since the weather was too nice to be inside at a museum, we ventured to the national arboretum. The azaleas were blooming and the bonsai garden was incredible!

Koi look funny when they are eating

Japanese White Pine in training since 1625!

Nice view from the azalea trail at the arboretum

Most of you already know that I'm a big planner. Mostly I plan because I need something to look forward to. It's too easy to get caught up in the daily grind and the busy-ness of everyday life otherwise.

Leading up to the tour, we had a very stressful couple of months. I planned this trip, as well as an overnight to Richmond to see one of our favorite bands, Iron & Wine, in order to have a light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. It worked pretty well.

Now I'm thinking forward to my birthday in July. I always tend to make a plan for birthdays too, to avoid being disappointed by having nothing special to do on the big day. It'll be impossible to top last year's birthday, which we spent in Paris, but a plan involving good food, drinks and scenery is usually a successful one. Maybe we'll head to the mountains this year...