The most amazing trip ever!

We had such a good time. We saw so much and learned a ton. I took over 700
pictures. Here are only a few. You can look at my albums to see the whole thing.

Virginia!

Here are some pictures! We are having a blast!

Here in Virginia

I don't have pictures today. I will on Thursday or Friday. We have walked
tons of miles I swear. All over DC My feet are very sore. But today has been a rest. We are at
my grandma's house tonight just enjoying the company. My favorite thing thus far has been the
Vermeer pieces at the National Gallery of Art. Amazing. They even let Daniel take a picture of
me in front of it. So much to see and so much to tell. We have a few stories to tell. I will
tell them later! Having fun!

Trying to Leave Town

My poor dogs know something not good for them is going on. They are pouting
and won't let me out of their sight. Winston even went this far:Can you
see the end of his bones just under my pants at the top center? He likes to hide bones and it
made me laugh when he did this.

My next post will be
when he have officially left town! I'll try to post from the East Coast. SO EXCITED!!! Flying
over the Blue Ridge Mountains....Landing
in Washington D.C. to spend a few days...Then to
Charlottesville where I will see these two amazing girls who have been checking my blog every
time they visit grandma to see how long till I come. I'm so excited to see these
two!

(girls - I have birthday gifts for
you!!!)Happy
Travels to come!!!

Beaver + Vacuum =

Something I never want to do again. At the Utah Museum of Natural
History we have taxidermied animals. They are in cases but those cases are not sealed tight.
So bugs get in. Well our beaver, affectionately named Barry, had an infestation. So we put him
in a deep, deep, deep freeze (-70) for three days. Then two days out, then three more days in.
One his two days out we had to pull the bugs off and vacuum him clean. With a small dental
vacuum.I think
that was one of the oddest things I have ever done, or ever will do in my life. Weird. Just
pay too much attention to the fact that my hair looks funny with a mask. But I mean - who does
this stuff?

Update

I did quit my job! But I'm not as relieved as I thought I'd be. Because I
am leaving for two weeks, I can't just quit next week. Although I want too, she'd be really
mad. (There I go again, loyal!) But also I will have to train a replacement. I have about 19
days of work left, if I quit at the end of October. I would like to quit sooner. But here is
why I am angry. Right after I told my boss she told me that last week she applied for a job
herself, out of state. Wasn't going to tell me. I was not very happy. So now I will work three
days, go out of town for 10 and deal with it when I get home. But it didn't quit turn out the
way I had hoped. Now she's trying to get other people to tell me to stay. HAH! That's funny.
Not. happening. I told her I was impervious to such tactics. Tomorrow I will post pictures of
my most recent adventure, and another reason I am quitting. Let's just say Beaver + dental
vacuum = not fun.

Help..of some sort.

I'm stressed out. I think that's why I have cut my hair, gained weight, put
cereal in the freezer and I'm always tired. So here is how I need help. I need to quit my job
in Salt Lake. I feel guilty doing it though. I am now "committed" to a conference in October,
a trip to return artifacts to St. George in October, and project and trip in the middle of
November. I could get out of them all except the conference in October, they've already paid
for that. How do I quit? My boss intimidates me and I feel like I'd be chickening out if I
sent an e-mail to tell her I need to talk to her about quitting. I hate the guilt feelings,
but I told her when she hired me that I'd probably work until Christmas, when I expected to
look at other job opportunities.

This
picture is almost two years old, but this is how I feel. Caught off guard, confused and
looking for something. Help.

INSANE

What happens when....
You find your cereal in the
freezer...and blame it on your husband when it was actually you;
Your dog's feet turn green from running around on freshly cut grass...and he doesn't care but you do;
And youdecide to cut your hair at 10:00 at night so call and get an appointment all because you were looking through pictures. (I like it better short)You go on Vacation to Bear Lake and enjoy a couple of sunny days and only take pictures on the one
rainy day. Although it was beautiful. I've always loved storms. I talked to my cousin on my way home on Thursday. He's a psych/socio major and said I'm
overdoing it. I agree. There is a guilt factor. I can't quit because of how busy my Salt Lake
job will be in October and November. I'll quit at Thanksgiving. My house is a mess. I want to
do fun stuff, like crafts, play the piano and cook, but any time at home is spent cleaning or
working my other job. Don't know what to do! Anyway. Then throw in the desire to work in
Museums forever fighting against my inclination to want a baby and you have a mess. Meet
Ashley Mess Allen. That's me. Insane. Maybe after a 10 day trip back east I'll be a little
better off. I hope so. Signing off and joining the Space Cadet Corp - yours truly, Insanity
Allen. (You should have seen the typos I had to correct as I typed this small paragraph.
Yikes)