Hershey World

Every women's dream!We got a tour of the factory. They had singing cows that lead our tour group here at Hershey World. They started the tour in South Africa where the plant comes from and we were educated on how the beans turn to powder, a liquor, milk chocolate, and then into a Hershey's kiss! It was very educational. We also received two chocolates with cream inside at the end of our tour. It was well worth our trip to drive to Hershey World. The sunset was beautiful as we were leaving our chocolate land.

The streets were lined with Hershey Kiss lampposts. The rumor on the streets is when you enter into the town you can smell the chocolate in the air! I rolled down my window to soak in the fumes and didn't smell much. Although our car did smell like it on our way back home and could have been due to all the chocolate that the girls bought while at the factory. Apparently one of the bags of chocolate melted next to the heater on the floor of the car and this could have been causing the smell all along.

More of Amish Country

I was in heaven! Homemade fresh salsa!!! I could taste any of the flavors I wanted! They were all so good I couldn't decide which I liked best. I knew if I tried to buy one I would buy the whole lot so I shied away from the register, but stayed at the test tasting corner.The rest of my friends tried all of different flavors of jam. I didn't know you could make so many different kinds of jam. My past experience with jam would include strawberry, raspberry, and maybe grape (or at least something purple). We saw a ginger bread corner and thought we would see who could design the best ginger bread man or women. I thought it was more fun to make then eat. We luckily didn't kick any little kids out of this corner because most the town empty due to the fact that it was middle of winter in a farming town.I always feel bad when you eat a ginger bread person, it never feels right biting off a limb...Mine was a little girl, I never named her...but Lisa did name her ginger bread women Rebecca. It was a very proud moment for me! Lisa is the one on the far left...she did a very nice job designing Rebecca the ginger bread girl!

Amish Country

My roommates and I decided to take a trip to Intercourse Pennsylvania! We knew the first stop is in a buggy where we can get the inside scoop of Amish lifestyle. Aaron, our driver, and Mary, the young white Stallion, were our tour guides for the day. We weren’t sure if we would be able to take our camera or pictures of the Amish people. I wasn’t sure how to ask Aaron if that would even be taboo to ask that sort of question.
After Aaron cracked a few dry jokes (which most of them we got later as we were eating) we knew he would be welcoming to any questions we had about their beliefs and way of life.
I would say one of the best things they have is their insurance. The one question I didn't ask and should have is if I could get on their plan! They pay their premiums and when they need to use the money for health care, they do. That is the same way with their fire insurance. He did mention their fire insurance is the best around! He didn't want to brag about it, but knew it was the best you would get anywhere.
He kept on telling us who's house in town is Amish. We learned the secret way to tell an Amish home is they don't have blinds, but they have blue or green curtains. This is to see who their Amish friends are as well as a reminder that they are ‘in the world, but not of the world.’
One of the best things I loved about our stay in Amish country is the food (which I will discuss later) and something Aaron said. As we finished up our buggy ride he exclaimed, "Well I'm 72 years old and it’s not perfect [the Amish lifestyle], but I'm sure appreciative of my heritage." It really struck me that they realize their family is the thing that matters most and the sacrifices that they have made to bless their children’s lives.
They help each other out as a community and although their technology is not one of their strengths, they realize what is most important in life, God and family. They emphasize the importance of service to each other and our humble and not haughty to people of different beliefs.
Now for the homemade cooked food, it was amazing! I had to take a loaf of bread home with me because I enjoyed it so much! I only wish I could order online freshly churned butter and baked bread. I won't expect it in the near future, but maybe someday (or otherwise I’ll have to make a trip back their which may seem more logical).

Freeeeeezing!

We had an ice storm and it was very very cold! They shut the schools down for two days because of the 1 1/2 inch of snow...I only wish I was in school to take advantage of that.

Blue-tooth

I was talking on my blue-tooth (yes the hands free device is very nice) and this spot was very comfortable.

Something's Missing...my earrings mysteriously disappear throughout the night

The Cubical

Someone in the office attacked me with post-its when I came back...I suspect it may be Laurie since there was a hot chocolate cup in my trash can. Earlier that day both of us went to go get that same hot chocolate so I became very suspicious of her...

At least they were cute post-its

We found this poster in my office and I claimed it as mine. Apparently shooting isn't as good in the side of someone as it is center body mass. Paul, in the next cubicle, wrote the bad shooting as Laurie's and made new shots in the head area and claimed it as mine. This helped because people believe I am a good shooter when in reality I have never been shooting in my life! It has been quite the conversation opener with all the people in the office. If you ever want to make friends with people in the office get one of these posters!

This is Kate, Reed, and Paul in Hatch's office. They took us to lunch this week at Hunan Dynasty. They help show us the 'good stuff' around Capitol Hill.

Pattie is the Health Policy Director in Senator Hatch's office and she is the one I go to the most. She has been working on the Hill for about 25 years so she knows the ins and outs. I work with all the health staff, but she is the one that I report to the most. She is wonderful in helping me figure out many new things that have not done before!

Inauguration 2009

This was the start of the crowd...We were in the purple crowd, but we were at a standstill for about 20 minutes. We couldn't get anywhere on any side! So we got a plan...

I told Laurie to get on my shoulders and direct us in the right direction. So we parted the sea of people and were on our way! We decided that was the turning point in getting in through the purple gates versus being smashed up against the fence.

Once we were inside this is what was waiting for us.

Our seats weren't too bad since we were on higher ground next to a tree! The swearing in of President Obama!!!

Old Georgetown est.1751

This is our first shopping experience in D.C. We went into one of the stores and a worker said we should be on the lookout for celebrities because they are going to be up and down M street (which is the main shopping street in Georgetown).

They are famous for this little cupcake store. It just so happened to be on Good Morning America that morning we were there so the lines we extra long. The lines would have already been long because of the Inauguration as well as it is a great cupcake place!This was the line for a cupcake...we decided the Obama cupcakes could wait a few weeks until the lines died down a bit.

This is PNC Bank and I thought I would take a picture of it in memory of my little grocery store bank out in Sandy. This would be a nice upgrade!

This looks like a fun place to live considering Georgetown is right across the street.