Kreizy Ates

Hollie, this one's for you :) I know it's been over a month since you tagged me....so at long last, here's my post! Thanks for giving me something to blog about -- I'm bored out of my mind (roommates still out of town), and a by-product of being bored-out-of-one's mind is not having anything interesting to write about.

Without further ado -- My Crazy Eights:

Eight Shows I watch:

1. Cash Cab (it is my dream to perchance hail the Cash Cab in NYC)
2. LOST
3. LOST
4. LOST
5. LOST
6. LOST
7. LOST
8. LOST (I just watched Season 3 of Lost, only to find out I still have to watch Season 4 to be completely caught up. Wow, I'm behind. Your senior year of college will do that to you, I guess.)

Eight things I did in the past 24 hours:

1. Watched Get Smart with my parents and sister
2. Slept (in!)
3. Helped my mom make 24-hour salad (mmmm)
4. Practiced a new song on the guitar
5. Listened to my little sister speak at church (she did great!)
6. Drove back to Arlington listening to a "borrowed" David Archuleta CD (don't know if Mom will get it back :)
7. Made a cuppa tea and curled up with a good book.
8. Blogged!

Eight places I like to eat:

1. Bamian (Afghan food)
2. the taqueria on 14th St.
3. Costco (c'mon, you like eating there too :)
4. Cafe Rio and Chipotle (yes, it is possible to like both)
5. Bangkok 54
6. Cheesecake Factory (oops, that should have been #2)
7. Goodberry's (NC frozen custard)
8. Wilber's BBQ
9. Ben's Chili Bowl (sorry, I keep thinking of more places. I'll stop now.)

Eight things on my wishlist:

Since Christmas is over, I'm going to list eight gifts that I'm grateful for!

1. A brand-spankin' new folk guitar. I'M SO SPOILED!!!!
2. Two new almanacky-trivia-type books (thanks, Mary, they're awesome!)
3. A totally way California-esque t-shirt from my bro.
4. Measuring cups and spoons (aren't little sisters great?)
5. Fuzzy socks (little sister again, gotta love 'em)
6. A William Goldman book (it's even better when you have 3 little sisters!)
7. West Side Story (movie night, anyone?)
8. LDS magazines in el Espanol!

Eight tags:

Um, I'm a complete hypocrite because I love being tagged but I hate tagging other people....so.....if you read my blog (there are probably only eight of you anyway :), please consider yourself voluntarily tagged (if you like). Knock yourself out!

(On a side note, I used 21 sets of parenthesis in this post. Kind of out of control. At least I catch myself when I'm about to do a parenthesis within a parenthesis. That's just uncalled for.)

Wishing You a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!

Shoot, you can't really see the poem. It works better as an actual Christmas card (send me your address if you want one, I have a few extras). And I can't (for the life of me) remember what all it says, but you'll just have to take my word for it that it rhymes. And it lists all the places I've been this year. That I can remember!

New Hampshire
Vermont
Maine
Williamsburg and Jamestown
Charlottesville (Monticello)
NYC
Annapolis
Utah
New Mexico
Kirtland and Xenia, OH
Boston
Jacksonville and Goldsboro, NC
Tunis, Tunisia
Rome, Italy!!!!

It's been a fabulous year, no complaints. I hope all of you are having a lovely Christmas/holiday break, and Happy New Year too!!!

This is your song....

Has God ever played a song just for you? When you're having a bad day? I don't know how He does it, but He always jumps in just in the nick of time with a song for me. I know some of you out there can just hum your favorite song or sing sunshine-y things when you're feeling down, but I can never quite muster it up -- I need divine intervention!

Today it was Shostakovich's "Festive Overture" on the radio. Dang, it was definitely not the best of days today, for way too many reasons, but as soon as that song came on in my car -- I was belting out the clarinet line at the top of my lungs! It made my day!

Since moving to Arlington, I often go running to "cool down" after work. Unfortunately, it usually doesn't cool me down -- I just stress more about how I can barely breathe and how my legs are throbbing......until.....I hear the church down the street start chiming out "Lead Kindly Light" from the belfry. Turns my mood around everytime.

Or sometimes it's hearing someone else's i-pod on the metro humming a Josh Groban song. Or some smooth jazz coming from the hotel awning across the street. Every once in a while, I'll even hear a high school marching band practicing as I pass by. A little ABBA while cleaning the kitchen. And yes, I'll admit, a good Death Cab for Cutie song every once in awhile is just what I need to hear.

Anyway, I don't know if God put all those songs there just for me, or if he just helps me to realize how lucky I am to have music around to cheer me up. Either way, I am grateful for the SOUND OF MUSIC!!!!

I caught the travel bug.....

I just got back from Tunisia (work conference), swinging through Rome on the way back. FABULOUS!

The local folks in Tunis were tres gentilles, the cab drivers were hilarious, the weather was perfect, the Mediterranean was very, very blue, and the HISTORY there, you would not believe! Well, you would if you read a history book. To sum up: Tunisia was the place to be if you were an empire in the past 2,900 years. A group of Phoencians from Tyre landed there between 1200 and 900 B.C. and built Carthage. Carthiginians were a dominant force in the area until the Romans, then the Vandals, then the Byzantines, then Arabs, then it was a French protectorate until 1956.

A few of us were able to visit some extensive Roman ruins in Dougga (a few hours west of Tunis) -- they were stunning. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here is the link to my Picasa album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/shannonmollie/TunisiaAndRome#

Ah, Rome. It was quite the contrast to Dougga -- the ruins were packed into a bustling metropolis rather than spread throughout deserted farmland. I saw quite a bit in 5 hours, then went and checked into......a convent. OK, that's the technical term, but it was really more like a hostel run by nuns. They were very nice! And no, I didn't stay on permanently. But if someone ever says "Get thee to a nunnery," at least now I know where one is :)

Did you know?

...that the National Jousting Chamionship is being held this weekend in Loudon County, VA? According to a t.v. spot on the local FOX channel this morning, jousting no longer consists of knocking the other guy off his horse. Rather, the competitors must get the point of their lance through a ring the size of a life-saver.

Upon hearing this, the reporter declared "Really anyone, if you have a horse and a lance, can do this!"

The jousting trainer looked at her skeptically and continued to explain how the lances are custom-made and "aren't just the kind of thing you can go buy at a local hardware store."

:)

All children but one grow up -- J.M. Barrie, "Peter Pan"

When I was 7, it hit me that some day I would have to grow up. So I ran into the corner of my playroom, sat by the window, and sobbed.

Why couldn't I spend the rest of my life playing with my hamster, rollerskating around the block, imagining I was a giant grizzly bear chasing my brother down the hall? (my sisters still make me re-create that one :) Life was good, and I knew it. My parents had an endless supply of mac'n'cheese and I always got Littlest Pet Shop toys on my birthday.

So I really liked President Monson's Sunday morning talk during this weekend's LDS General Conference. He gently reminded us that change is the only constant in life, and we need to find joy in the journey rather than being preoccupied with the future or dwelling in the past.

Since it is glaringly obvious to me that my life is no longer full of hamsters, rollerskates, and grizzly bear imitations, and since I am the Queen of Nostalgia, I have been having a tough time adjusting to this "being an adult" thing. BUT....in the spirit of President Monson's optimistic words, I would like to list a few of my "grown-up accomplishments" of the past few months. Rather than groaning each time I do something horrendously boring and grownupish, I am trying to smile and pat myself on the back. So hooray for me! :)

1) I now have a Costco card, and have used it approximately thrice.

2) I bought a used car.

3) The used car broke down, but I successfully got it to the shop and paid for the repairs without getting swindled.

4) I took my pressure cooker out of the box (cooking something in it will come later).

5) I have navigated the craziness of health insurance plans, doctors, specialists, and referrals.

6) I researched and signed up for my 401(k) (and 30 minutes later the market dropped below 10,000 -- oh well, buy low, sell high, right?).

7) I have my own cell phone and my own plan with my own bill (though after seeing the bill, I kind of miss the family plan).

Lest you all be afraid that I've lost all my youthful childish immaturity, just let me say this:

I HAVEN'T! Mneah. So there. :) Oh yeah, and isn't that the same shirt you wore the day after yesterday?

What is this world coming to?

OK, yes -- I'm a grammar snob. But......honestly.....

" Dear, Shannon

I was just going through my inbox , and notice that you have never reply.are you still in the market for a new car ?

Did you buy a differant make ?

Is there anything I can do to earn your business?

We got the largest inventory in the east coast and will not loose a customerto another dealership...

Reply and let me know what I can do..

Waiting for your reply....

Please Note: Price quote expires in 72 hours and is subject to availability or prior sale. Not responsible for typographical errors. "



Now the disclaimer at the end (regarding typographical errors) is probably referring to errors in the price quote. I hope with all my heart that this the case. If companies have to tack disclaimers onto their employees' e-mails excusing their grammatical incompetence, this has become a sad world indeed. You know, I think this e-mail made me more depressed than all of the recent financial chatter. Sigh. I'm going to try to go think some happy thoughts. Ice cream, mmmmm.

In other news.....

BYU jumped to #7 and #8 in the polls on a BYE week!!!!

Maybe I should move back to Mexico....

Riding through Alexandria in Tyler's open-topped Jeep,
we got a little shout-out from a guy on the street.

"YOU'RE UGLY!!!"

He said, and it was very clear
that the wind had severely tousled our usually well-kept hair.
But before I got myself all in a stew,
I remembered that it can go the other way too.....

A year ago in Mexico, on the streets of Guadalajara --
Trust me, we wouldn't have to walk very far, uh,
Before we'd get some cat calls, a "Hey Baby,"
And about 20 whistles, maybe.
It was all very flattering to be noticed, tickly-pink
But these calls from the street have given me pause, made me think.....

No one can make me feel ugly or bonita without my permission!
No one else can contribute to my self-esteem highs or attrition!
So watch out, world, I know who I am, deep inside
I'm your average awesome girl, true blue and bona-fide.


(OK, so I just wanted to blog about the guy who yelled "You're Ugly!" but once I start rhyming, I can't stop. Anybody wanna peanut?)

In other news......



BYU is now ranked #11 in both polls. Go gettum, Cougs!

"And God somehow you know that ship is me...

"'Cause there's a lighthouse
In the harbor
Shining faithfully
Pouring its light out
Across the waters
For this sinking soul to see
That someone out there still believes
In me...."

I'm a beach bum at heart -- growing up, my room was decorated with dolphin posters, fish nets, and lighthouse-themed EVERYTHING (yes, even the light switch cover). And Garth Brooks' song "When You Come Back to Me Again" (see above) has always been one of my favorites.

So...after pretty much destroying my blog's format (I'm html impaired, but I can never stop myself from messing with things), and after being informed by Becky that I would never be rid of the green lines, I found this nifty lighthouse-themed blog template!


In other news:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/rankingsindex

September 11th.....Just taking a moment

So, the neatest part about having a birthday on September 11th is that I get a chance to really reflect on what's important in life. Good thing too, because I LOVE getting spoiled on my birthday, partying like crazy, eating lots of chocolate, so God must have known I'd need a little sobering up once a year (NOT in the alcohol sense :)

At any rate, today I have been thinking about my Mom. She was the first one to call me this morning at 8a.m. to wish me a happy birthday -- she was thinking about how it was about the same time of day when she went into labor with me (of course, I wasn't actually born until 7pm that night -- the poor woman!). Anyway, she is super! And a shout out to my Dad (I don't think either of them actually read this blog, so this may be kind of pointless) who has been a lifesaver in helping me find a used car that wasn't stolen from Russia or dotted with acid burns.

Oh, and the picture! This is the newly-dedicated 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon. I'm going there tonight when it will open to the public. The Navy Band will be playing -- should be neat.

And PLEASE excuse the horrible formatting -- I was playing around with the html last night, and the colors sort of exploded. Does anyone know how to get rid of the green borders? If I could get rid of those, I think I'd be a pretty happy camper.

O.K., it's true -- I'm addicted to the NYTimes

This article was in the Times magazine yesterday. Nothing earth-shattering, but I thought the first few pages would be especially interesting to those of you who live in the D.C. metropolitan area (Becky, I think that's you) Man, I really need to increase my readership. :)

The article gives an overview of the demographic and political geography of the area and uses it as a microcosm for nationwide political trends. D.C. is a great area to use for a comparison like this because the demographic contrasts here are so visual, well-known, and drastic. Driving the five miles from my apartment in Crystal City over the river to Anacostia is like driving into a different world. And driving 40 minutes out to my parent's house in Fairfax County is like driving into another completely different world. And just beyond that is Manassas in Prince William County, and, well......just keep in mind that it's called "Manassas" and not "Bull Run."

I don't really know much about Virginian politics, but what little I've read tells me that the upcoming election will be fascinating to watch around here. Here's another Virginia-politics-related article you might find interesting.

Top 5 Things I Have Learned at Work This Past Year

5. 50-year-old adults still cry when they fail a multiple choice test.

4. If an employee in the building is threatening suicide and possibly has a weapon, someone in China will hear a rumor about an evacuation order before you do (literally).

3. Joel can staple name tents faster than me AND eat more sushi than me. Rats.

2. Not all toner cartridges open the same way. You have to watch out for the exploding ones.

1. Never stand idly by while a co-worker uses duct tape to attach something to the wall.

I've been tagged!

Four Places I go over & over:
1. Work
2. My apartment
3. My fam's house
4. The U.S. Air Force Memorial

Four Places I like to eat: (I only get 4? This is ridiculous. Let it be noted that I need at least 25)
1. Some French cafe in NYC that had the best quiche I have EVER EATEN! It melted in my mouth!
2. Bamian (Afghan food)
3. Haagen Dazs
4. Any place that's new and different

Four Places I would like to be right now:
1. Sitting next to Greg
2. Swimming in the ocean
3. Hiking a mountain
4. New Zealand (why not?)

Four TV shows: (These are ones I have liked in the past -- my relationship with the T.V. has slowly been deteriorating)
1. 24
2. LOST
3. Iron Chef
4. JAG

Three Joys:
1. DARK DARK DARK and high quality chocolate.
2. Singing at the top of my lungs in the car.
3. Catching up with friends

Three Fears:
1. Bees
2. That's pretty much it.
3. No, wait. Driving in a blizzard with 3 of my best friends in the car.

Three Short-term Goals:
1. Jog more than twice a week
2. Write my brother on a mission more letters
3. Be more politically savvy (i.e. an informed voter)

Three obsessions:
1. Food
2. Marching Band
3. College Basketball

Three surprising facts about me:
1. I have had 10 different roommates in the past year (and I love you all! Mwah!)
2. I have tuberculosis (don't freak, it's latent!)
3. (On a good day), I have a 3-octave range -- The C in bass clef to the C above the treble clef staff. Note that I did not say that all the notes sound good :)



I tag: Becky, Rachel, and Ashleigh (but only if you want to, no pressure!)

Thursday Thirteen

(This picture is from my Sushi-eating competition with my co-worker Joel. Joel won 51-30.)


Since I like Becky's blog, I'm copying her and doing a Thursday Thirteen. My latest obsession has been sandwiches, and if I understand this concept right, my Thirteen can be about anything, so here they are:

13 Kinds of Sandwiches I Have Eaten and Enjoyed During My Lifetime:

1. Tomato and Cream Cheese (my favorite)
2. Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese and Salsa
3. Peanut Butter, Jelly, and American Cheese (I was 5, OK?)
4. Primanti Brothers' Ham, Cheese, Coleslaw, and Fries
5. Peanut Butter and Pickle
6. Peanut Butter, Pickle, and Turkey
7. Turkey with Raspberry Chipotle sauce
8. Grilled Tuna and Pickle
9. Peanut Butter, Banana, and Mayo
10. Spinach, Farmer's Cheese, and Ham
11. Zucchini, Honey Mustard, and Cheese
12. Grilled Bell Pepper and Cheese
13. Grilled Hummus and Cheddar (had it today! It goes great with Tomato Soup)


Don't judge me until you've tried each and every one of those combinations......and THEN you can tell me that I'm CRAZY! :)

Did I tell you I made it to Maine!?!?!

A Sunday Post

I was able to go to a really neat church fireside tonight. We watched a presentation of an artist's photography series based on scenes from the life of Christ. The photograph exhibit itself will be on display at various LDS Temple visitors centers, but in the meantime, if you'd like to check it out, here are some links:

A slideshow of the photos

Main website (with documentary-type clips on how they did the individual shots)

The music is fabulous as well, so make sure your compy's sound is on.

Hope you enjoy it. I'm very glad this particular artist chose to share his talent and blessed us with such visual reminders of our Savior and his life.

Please don't try this at home

I'm SO glad people are deciding to be more frugal after feeling the economic pinch. Honestly, what is this world coming to?

Oh, and don't forget your insurance.

The Fruits of My Labors (aka the $20 Zucchini)

Well, I'm kind of disillusioned with this whole gardening thing. I blame it on the balcony. Rather than being a nice little alcove for my veggies, it has more or less played the part of an oven. Luckily, before my plants completely fried, I got some cute little peas and a lumpy zucchini (see above). You know, I think with some practice, and a better environment, I could crank out the veggies at an economical rate, but......at the moment......between the paying for the pots and potting soil, that zucchini cost about $20. GOOD THING IT WAS THE BEST ZUCCHINI I'VE EVER EATEN!

A few random announcements

My new favorite cereal is organic, and it's called "Puffins." I can't tell if it has won me over through it's healthy-peanut-buttery-wonderfulness or because there's a picture of a penguin on the box.

My next announcement is that Puffins are actually COUSINS to Penguins, and they live in NORTH AMERICA!!!! Alaska and Maine and such.

Thirdly, I watched "Dan in Real Life" with my roommates last night, and I cried through almost the whole thing. Is that normal? I think I need a long weekend.

Sixth and most importantly, my roommate and I stopped by Old Navy to buy $5 flag t-shirts for the 4th, and.....

They were NOT $5, they were 50% off $14. That = $7.

And we had 3 options:

"Life
Liberty and the
Pursuit of
Boys"

"Hot as a Firecracker"

and

"No Flirtation without Intoxication."

We didn't buy any shirts.

Just Add Water?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/29/AR2008062901872.html?hpid=topnews

Ay! Ya no son plantitos!

Although I am very impressed and excited about the large size of my plants, I'm kind of starting to wonder at what point they will provide me with food.....I'm hungry!

Grad Schools Schmad Schools

Well, you all may or may not be aware that (quite on a whim) I applied to 4 grad schools back in January. I have officially heard back from all of them, and although I didn't apply to nearly as many as some of you out there (11, Steve?), I figured I'd go ahead and post the results as well so y'all can know what I'm up to. All of the programs were International Affairs Somethingorother.

I was accepted at American University and George Washington University (w/ a scholarship!).

And...I was waitlisted at Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University.

I accepted GW's offer and decided to defer until Fall 2009 (to give me another year to earn some dinero). When all of a sudden......JH took me off their waitlist and accepted me! And gave me a week to decide what to do! The fact that I didn't get their info packet until the day before the deadline didn't impress me either :)

All things considered, I decided to stick with GW instead of going with the more prestigious JH. Crazy? JH would be two years of insanely intense schooling and would cost me, well, ick...too much -- tuition-wise and burning-myself-out-wise. After talking with some mentors/professors, I figure the prestige would only be worth it if I want to get a PhD and teach. GW has a good enough name for a future public servant, I can cover a good chunk of the tuition with my scholarship and savings, and I can go part time while working or do some distance learning.....it's much more flexible.

Them's my thoughts. Thanks for listening. It feels good to write it all down......I'm feeling better about my decision every minute! Glad that stress is over (unless Georgetown decides to grant me admission in late August. Ay. I think my head would explode).

Mas Plantitos

Here's my progress report on the plants:

Mis Plantitos!

This is my summer for trying a garden-in-a-pot-on-the-balcony, also known as a G.I.A.P.O.T.B. I figured putting pictures of my little plants on my blog (along with regular updates) would be incentive to keep them alive. That would be embarrassing to have to post pictures of dead plants.



These be peas:And the last two are cucumber/and/or/squash, but I can't tell which is which right now. Oh well, we'll see soon enough! Hopefully.

EARTHQUAKE!!!!

That's right, everyone, today I felt my first earthquake. I've still got a ways to go if I'm going to catch up with little brother Michael on his mission in CA, but I can now officially add "1 Earthquake Felt" to my tally.

We were all sitting around at work, a little after lunch, when the building shook. Not outrageously, mind you, but it was a different sort of shake than the building construction ones we frequently feel in my office. After the thundery-rumble, everyone goes silent (thinking "was that just in my head?"). Then one by one we each poked our heads out from our offices and said "Did you hear that? Did you feel that?" It was kind of freaky, seeing as how this area is sort of notorious for terorrist threats and the like. But we waited, didn't hear any sirens, and figured.....well, we couldn't really figure anything. Bizarre.

Then the local news reported a 1.8 magnitude quake with the epicenter in Annandale (a few miles south). And if you don't believe me (I probably wouldn't), here's an official link from a .gov site:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Quakes/ld1022071.php#details

If that was a 1.8, I can't image what a 5 or 6, much less a 7, 8, or 9 would be like.

And here is a cool map of folks reporting what they felt.

I have to admit, when stuff like that happens around here, it makes me part nervous, part grateful that nothing came of it, part wishing the POTUS and I weren't such close neighbors, and part thinking I should prepare my soul a bit more :)

Prayers and Presidents

President Bush has declared today a National Day of Prayer. After reading this in my e-mail at work, I googled a bit to try to discover what national crisis we were supposed to be praying about. But there was none (at least, there's not an official one)! Come to find out, the First Thursday Of Every May is declared a National Day of Prayer. So pick your national crisis (or personal crisis, if needs be) and get to prayin'! And hopefully we'll all realize that it shouldn't take a presidential declaration to get us on our knees a little more often.

In other news, President Bush was the main character in a really bizarre dream I had last night. My family took him to church with us! My Dad was in meetings all morning, so my mother and I went to pick him up. Traffic was REALLY crazy, and I was so impressed at how my Mom kept her cool while simultaneously swerving around vehicles AND chatting with the President of the United States in the backseat. Go Mom! I got to chat with the POTUS as well; he was very personable, and just seemed tired of it all and ready to hand over the reigns to someone else. I'm afraid (in real life) that all of our presidential candidates will have worn themselves out with all the primary-ing and campaigning by the time one of them gets to the presidency. And we could really use a president right now who's got some vim and vigor, optimism and enthusiasm.

Maybe President Bush declared this First Thursday Of May a National Day of Prayer so we could pray for the current candidates. Wouldn't that be his worst nightmare, to be handing over the presidency on Inaugaration Day to our new president, and watch them pass out from exhaustion? I'd probably throw my hands up and shout "Too late, the torch has already been passed!" Then I'd high-five the VP and I'd jump on a one-way plane to New Zealand. Ah, yes.

Jejeje

"Women don't want to hear what you think. Women want to hear what they think - in a deeper voice."
Bill Cosby

Oops, Missed Maine

Well, I got within a mile of Maine, but I didn't have even half an hour to go run across the bridge and come back. It's probably for the best; I wouldn't have done Maine justice by running across a bridge and tapping my toe on the other side. Kind of like I probably haven't done Canada justice by crossing the border at Niagra Falls and looking in a gift shop. But I still color in all 3,855,103 square miles of it on my countries-I've-been-to map. You've got to take what you can get in this crazy world.

State Hopping

Well, after this weekend (I'm traveling for work again), I will have been to all of the states you see below in RED. Thursday I'm hitting Vermont, and Friday I'm hitting New Hampshire and Maine. Sweet! The only problem is.....


Can anyone see that speck of white in the middle of my beautifully RED East Coast? That would be Rhode Island. It is now the next state on my list that I am determined to conquer. I just can't figure out why I should go there, other than being able to color it in. Any suggestions? What's kickin' in R.I.? And WHY is it called Rhode Island?

Sneezy

I humbly declare today: Gain-an-appreciation-for-chronic-allergy-sufferers-Day! Glech! I've been having sneezing fits all day, my head feels like it's going to explode, scratchy throat, stuffy nose, can't think straight.....you name it. I don't know what's come over me, but all I can say is, allergy sufferers are definitely under-appreciated. No respect. I mean, look at Sneezy, the Fifth Dwarf (well, I don't really know if he's #5, but neither do you! Thus supporting my claim that he is under-appreciated). Doesn't get any good lines, just sneezes....and sneezes....I think even Sleepy is more exciting than Sneezy. Who wants to laugh at someone sneezing all the time? It's just depressing. Poor Sneezy.

So to all you allergy sufferers out there.....I respect you. I doubt that respect will help you overcome your sneeziness, and I can't even give you empathy because I'm hoping this is a one-day thing for me, but just know that you have won my admiration, and if this does become a chronic problem (heaven forbid), I shall be glad to find myself among your ranks.

I can't believe I just wrote a whole blog post on sneezing.

Back to Blogging

OK, I'm going to try to do a little better at blog posting since I found out this week that my readership has increased from 6 or so to 7 or maybe even 8!!! Thanks, friends! I'm finally understanding the feedback cycle: if I write more, maybe more folks will read, and if more folks will read, maybe I'll write more.....





By the way, if y'all haven't checked out the GoogleReader function, it is spectacular. It is how I see if my friends have updated their blogs, AND often how I browse through the NYTimes, BBC, The Onion, ESPN, Mexican newspapers, heck, even the LDS Newsroom has an RSS feed! Give it a shot.

Well, I SAW WICKED THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are not enough exclamation points to describe it..............

More Crazy Good Times

Well, I know there are at least a couple of you out there who read my blog every once in a while, so.....these pictures are for you! It's been awhile, I know, but trust me -- there haven't been many lovely things to take pictures of. The winter here has been kind of blah weather-wise, just gray and ugly. But finally, the sun is starting to appear every now and again! So I've been outside taking advantage of D.C.'s wonderfulness. Here y'are:

The Capitol! Early on a quiet Saturday morning. Sigh.

This is Greg and I getting ready to go up the Washington Monument (my first time since I was 4!!!!) That's Lincoln in the background.

Here is a view of the White House from the top of the Monument! Ay!

This is a drum and fife marching band at Mount Vernon on President's Day. GW was there himself to celebrate! The band was totally my favorite part, though. Ten, hut! Dress right!

Greg and I at Mount Vernon. It was SUNNY! I got SUNBURNT! (Even while wearing sunscreen)

The Potomac. It doesn't get much better than that. Ay, que fabuloso!

Crazy Good Times

Well, these are crazy times 'cause a million things are happening to me at once, but they're good times because the million things are all good! As you can see above, I am having a blast in D.C. That's a picture of me at the LDS Temple in D.C. The green tree behind me is a product of a few hours of volunteer work by yours truly. I went with a group this year to help put the lights on the trees for the annual Festival of Lights. And we did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself.

Other good things? I cleaned up one of my college papers (with many revisions by many good friends...thank you all!) and it will be published in February in the Journal of Intelligence and National Security. Ay!

I also passed the Foreign Service Oral Exam (the second part of a long and tough process). It doesn't mean an instant job offer, but it does mean I'm one step closer to a long time career dream.

Work is going super well. I'm staying busy, thinking up my own projects to do if I run out, and making friends! Aw. I also got to go to Hawaii to support a conference.



This is a picture of me at Pearl Harbor on Pearl Harbor Day. A very neat experience. But since I understand not everyone is as obsessed with historical sites as I am, here is a more picturesque picture:


And another:

So life is good. Yup.