KC and DC

The first week of December, I had a week of work travel. It wasn't the best timing - we'd just gotten possession of our house the week before and moved in only 2 days before I had to leave. But I was grateful to have gotten fairly settled before I left so I could at least pack!

The first stop was Kansas City, Missouri, where we had our annual team retreat. I've been blessed with some really awesome co-workers, and we have such a great time together. This was our first time meeting in KC, so it was fun to explore the city with Heather and Erica as our hosts. In addition to our work activities, we went to Union Station to see the train display,  the Plaza to see the lights there, and a Christmas Bar to see the decorations and Christmas-themed drinks (which I obviously didn't partake of). I actually didn't bring my ID because I don't drink so I never think about it, and the bouncer at the bar gave me a mark on my hand and told me I had to leave by 9 pm like I was underaged. :) 

Stop 2 was Washington, D.C. I've been working with a national partner - Jobs for America's Graduates. They had their yearly conference in DC, and since I've been the point person on the partnership, I was able to go to present to their educators and state leaders. It was fun to be in D.C. at Christmas time - the weather was pretty mild, so on the free evening that I had, I walked down to the Capitol Building, the Botanical Gardens, where I got to listen to a women's a capella group sing Christmas tunes, and Union Station. I really enjoyed it all.

The next day were the presentations - including one with the leader of entire K-12 team, Tom Parisi. That was fun, since a regional person like me doesn't usually have one-on-one time with of the higher-ups in the company. 

Both trips were fun, and I was excited to go. But I was so ready to come home. It had been a crazy 6 weeks with buying the house, working on it, moving, etc. And leaving for a week meant leaving Brandon (which I always hate anyway) alone to work on the house by himself. He is a rockstar, though, and did so much while I was gone, including replacing the carpet in our bedroom. I was so grateful to do all of this with him. He is such a dedicated, wonderful partner and building a home and a life with him has been the greatest source of joy in my life so far.

I got home Friday night, and Brandon was showing me everything he'd done, including finishing the flooring upstairs. As we were coming back downstairs, I slipped and fell down a few steps. My arm took most of the impact, and I don't remember the last time I've felt that much pain. Like I just saw there on the stairs for a few seconds trying to catch my breath, holding my arm, and immediately started crying. I was worried I'd broken it, but it turned out to just be a terrible deep bruise. I only got this one picture of it - I think it was from the day after I fell. It got much more discolored after this and I still have a scar. I survived, though, and no hospital visit was necessary, thank goodness. An eventful end to an eventful week!