Archive for the 'The Gurl House' Category

March 25, 2010 | Life in General,The Gurl House

First of all, I would like to point out that normally, we would’ve had to leave earlier today. But we were allowed to stay since we got on the list for the White House tour. Also, because of the place that I work at, we were able to stay and see the Medal of Honor ceremony.

White House Tour – We got on the list for this tour at 11am. Getting on this list is like getting into Fort Knox (if that’s even open for visitors. Which I doubt). You need to contact your council person and have it set up through them. Altogether, it took, like, 6 weeks to get notification. Despite the fact that you only get to see the first floor, it’s still pretty cool. The whole time, Lisa and I kept looking at each other with these “We’re in the White House. We’re really in the White House” looks on our faces. Below is a map of all the rooms that we saw: CLICK PIC FOR BIGGER VIEW

The rooms towards the front–Vermeil, China, The Diplomatic Reception Room and the Map Room–were all roped off. We could see into the rooms, we just couldn’t go in. The other rooms, we were allowed to go into. They rolled up the carpets and roped off parts of the room, but you could still walk through them. It was a little crowded, what with all the teenagers (buses and buses full. Utter. Craziness. Again), but it was still very cool to see. The Obama’s live on the second floor.

If you ever get a chance to do a tour of the White House, be prepared to bring nothing. You can’t take cameras, hand bags, purses, make-up bags, etc. The only thing they allowed was a cell phone (it had to be off and in your pocket), wallet, keys, and umbrellas.

National Monument – This was in walking distance of the White House. Since we had time before the MoH ceremony, we checked it out.

National Aquarium – This is located in the Dept of Commerce building. For the low, low sum of $9, we checked this place out, too. We saw seahorses, all kinds of fish, sharks, piranha, and the largest lobster EVER!! The pinchers were huge!

Arlington National Cemetery – Let me just say that this place is haunting. And I’m not talking ghosts. There are white headstones. In perfect lines. On acres and acres of land. It’s truly disheartening to see that many headstones in one place. They have little bus tours rolling around in this place, and the only people you really hear talking are the tour guides. Seriously. This place has such a…presence, a hushed quality, that people spoke in low tones or didn’t really talk at all. There’s a side for women and a side for men. John and Jackie Kennedy are buried here, although we didn’t get a chance to see their headstone.

The Medal of Honor Ceremony takes place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. CLICK ON PIC FOR BIGGER VIEW

This is a yearly ceremony that takes place every March 25th and usually the President is there, but he wasn’t this time. Obviously. And darnit. We were hoping he would be because he was last year. Anyhow, this is a pretty big deal in the military world. Medal of honor recipients come out and place a wreath near the tomb (normally the President does that). Everyone is required to remain silent, stand, and either place a hand over your heart (civilians) or salute (military personnel) when they play Taps. I cried a little. Every time I hear that, I get a lump in my throat.

In the picture I took with my phone (because I couldn’t bring my damn camera on the White House tour!! Grrr!), you’ll see a Marine slowly marching back and forth in front of the tomb. This tomb is guarded 24/7, in person and with cameras. Lisa told me that to have the job of guarding the tomb is an honor. We also witnessed the changing of the guard for the tomb and it’s quite the process. The soldier that takes over is painstakingly inspected by his superior: his uniform and his rifle. Everything is so precise. It makes me wonder if it’s like that all the time or if it was just for show because of all the people.

It was a very good day. We got to see more touristy things and attend a very important ceremony. It was amazing and sad at the same time. But I’m ready to go home.

Read Day Four, Part Two

Technorati Tags: White House, National Monument, National Aquarium, Dept of Commerce, Arlington National Cemetery, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

December 19, 2009 | The 4-1-1 on Me,The Gurl House,WriterMentor

This week at The Gurl House: PAINTING AND CHOCOLATE

We started out making homemade tootsie rolls. And BOY did that get messy. LOL. Trying to mold that stickiness into some shape or form was a tad challenging. I felt like I was making mudpies. Ones that you could actually eat.

Or a mud mask. One that could be licked off your face.

I’ve never been a fan of the popular candy. My Mom, on the other hand…I was able to roll my portion of the chocolatey goodness into a few balls and left them for the girls to eat. They tried to make another batch, but I think it came out too watery. The recipe didn’t call for water, but they were trying to go for a more maleable product and it didn’t quite work out.

Thank God for paints.

After the second batch went south, we pulled out the paints. Our intention was to finish the patiques activity from a few weeks ago, but we didn’t have the same girls from that activity join us today. That’s all right, though. The results were a little abstract with a little lesson in a foreign language thrown in.

December 13, 2009 | Life in General,The 4-1-1 on Me,The Gurl House,WriterMentor

This week at The Gurl House: WHERE I’M FROM

I did this activity with the PA a few weeks ago with fun results. This time was no different. We only had 3 girls this time and getting to know more about them was a treat. It’s hard trying to remember all the stuff that interested you when you were 12 yrs old. They had to remember what grade they were in first, but it was interesting to hear what sports they played, the toys they played with, the candy they bought, the T.V. shows they watched. I momentarily forgot how old these girls were, but was quickly reminded, when they mentioned certain musical groups or people they crushed on.

They may have been 12, but I was in high school.

Boy, do I feel old.

We see these girls in the present tense. They talk about what their interests are now, what life is like for them now. With this activity, we got a glimpse into their past—when they were 12—which for the 3 we had today, probably was only 5-6 yrs ago.
I kind of got the impression that back then was better than now.

December 6, 2009 | Life in General,The 4-1-1 on Me,The Gurl House

No session this week at The Gurl House

November 29, 2009 | Life in General,The 4-1-1 on Me,The Gurl House

No session this week at The Gurl House