I heart flip flops...I hate mosquito bites

6 new mosquito bites in the last 2 days. Ugh. I am being eaten alive this summer.

Despite food poisoning and intense lower back pain from straining some muscles last weekend, I found have some joys:

Went out to lunch with the work team to welcome the new girl yesterday...and the company paid for it. Cute French cafe in Old Town to boot. Score

Felt the spirit as I read some talks from BYU and was so grateful for the love and peace that immediately comes from inspired words of latter day apostles and prophets.

Good friends

Laughter (usually at myself)

Men who actually and sincerely treat women with respect.

The network of friends and connections in the church. I can't imagine moving across the country without that support system.

And flip flops. For days like today when my back is struggling and I choose to wear heels to work to complement my outfit.

lhi-ghtah buulb....(gru style)

so here I am, sitting in my basketball shorts, on my computer, in front of my TV (my large, LCD TV I might add, not that I am a bit proud of it or anything), watching the Olympic events of the day which I already know the outcome to.
couple realizations: I love technology. not just, oh yeah i grew up with computers so now i use them every day of my life, but more like I am in love with technology...a friend recently called it an addiction....and I might actually agree. recognition is the first step right? anyway, my computer has been slow recently, and not like, "oh yeah 12 seconds to load instead of 2 seconds..you spoiled 20th century kid," but illegitimately slow. so I've been ruminating the thought of buying a new computer...looking through new dell prices and what not. then I had a dream last night that I had an iPad. and now I'm looking at iPads. and now I want one really bad. I'm telling you...I'm in love with technology. maybe its just because I truly am a kid at heart...I love shiny new toys. did you notice how many times i mentioned technology and love in the same sentence....? :)

another realization: I miss swimming. need to figure out a way to get back in the pool.
and another: real athletes are not skinny twigs. they're not fat, but these gals are not only ripped, but they've got meat on them.
and...the men don't. which is kind of funny when you consider that most of the time, in american culture, women have to be completely meat-less, while men can have a little gut and it's ok. ironic....

and last realization: i NEED to study for the GRE. i do not remember any math. ironic that i was such a math whiz in high school and i celebrated the fact in college that i would never have to take math after my junior year of high school ever again. isn't it ironic? (isn't that a song?...)

so maybe this is not funny...but it all was to me. :)

a couple of the JOYful things today:

• as I am now currently employed, I got a paycheck on Tuesday, and i was able to pay my car payment today...without going into my savings account for the first time since moving to DC. feels so good.
• i have been going outside during lunch almost every day for the past couple weeks, taking a walk and enjoying the sun and warmth since it is of course freeezzzing at my desk in a corner. and today i sat at a bench and pulled up my capris in an attempt to to help my fading summer tan from disappearing completely. sunshine makes me so happy.
• cookies. made by caitlyn vernon. delish!
• last night was absolutely beautiful: perfect temperature for the humidity, large/.bright moon, and lightening streaking through large thunderheads. you could see the arms of the bolts arching through the clouds, illuminating them every few seconds to make every outline suddenly visible. it was amazing.

monday ramblings

thoughts today:

I seriously love watching olympic swimming events. by far the most exciting, most athletic, and for me the most relatable. I envy those swimmers. I want to race again. sigh.

taking a serious look at the GRE now. it's gotta happen soon ...much to my chagrin. I was looking at sample test questions online today...totally blew my mind. while attempting to answer the questions I decided reading/studying anything on the computer is so not effective for me as I tend to skim things on my screen and my ADD kicks in as soon as I enter computer mode. this could be a problem. might need help on this one. how does one even study for a standardized entry exam? don't judge or hate but I never had to. suppose I could have studied for the ACT and gotten above 30 if I really wanted to....but why waste the time and money when I got into the school I wanted without the hassle?
goal: figure out how to study for the GRE.

i heart my iPhone. watched the men's 400 free relay on it, reminded myself of visiting teaching today, currently updating my blog from it. yup love it.

discovered this weekend that for the sake of my sanity, time spent outside is required every day. I won't regale this blog once again with my strong opinions on the health benefits of said habit, suffice it to say, had a rough day on saturday, took a walk through a little piece of wilderness on sunday, and suddenly a great cloud felt lifted from my mind as I strolled through dappling sunshine beneath a canopy of trees, and it was further banished from my memory by the time spent picnicking along the shining waters of the Potomac. (wow that was quite poetic....)

these are all the thoughts currently crossing my mind....other than my roommate is awesome. gift from heaven if you will.

Sunshine

I haven't posted anything in a few days as I've been crazy busy and out of town to Palmyra, NY. But today is an absolutely GORGEOUS day so I thought I'd share the beautiful things I'm enjoying on my lunch break:

These fir trees along the sidewalk smell fantastic. reminds me of christmas or Seattle...take your pick.

The sun is shining. Bright and clear like it does in SoCal.

There is a gentle breeze that is brushing my hair out of my face as I walk.

I work right down the street from these cool townhouses-typical, picturesque Old Town architecture. Love it.

Birds are chirping. No traffic. Just quiet. Ahhhh

Summer flowers. Need I say more?

Fresh air. Warm sun. I love being outside. It should be illegal to make someone stay inside all day. There is no way it is healthy. So I don't.

it's the little things in life

simple JOYs:

• after a week at work, i finally figured out the soap dispenser in the bathroom. 
• my outfit came together PERFECTly today. perfect mix of summer, office, style, trend, and me.
• the hair cooperating nicely today.
• raw almonds. i love them.

employed and bored=long post

In case anyone cares or was wondering about the theme of my blog, here is the talk by President Thomas S Monson that inspired my daily search for joy in my journey.Finding Joy in the Journey, President Thomas S Monson, October 2008 I love this talk and felt inspired to start finding and recording the joyful things I see in my days when I read it recently.

Tuesday I started my new job...that's right I am finally employed! It's not the dream...at least I don't think. I have had some fun looking at voting data in a project the other day...ok that sounded super nerdy. My political geography class and all the crazy data projects I did in undergrad are actually paying off. Yay! Maybe it's not so far from the dream as I thought.... we shall see.

JOYs:

• pondering/meditating/thinking (whatever you want to call it)... I have had time lately to think about many things: about my priorities, my relationship with the Lord, my goals/dreams, my desires, my struggles, my weaknesses....the list goes on. I appreciate these opportunities to ponder and reflect. It's not easy to think about these things as they usually require some sort of introspection and work, but definitely worth the effort. I highly recommend taking the time to think, not about what you have to do that day, or about your bills, nothing that would induce stress. That would be counterproductive. But instead, think about something you want to improve in the world, then try to make plans to put it into action. Or ponder on something you would like to improve or augment in your own character. Think about why you chose your current job/profession, does it still apply? Think about any weaknesses or struggles you may have, do they affect your daily life? Do you ever wonder why you could possibly have those weaknesses? What could you learn from them? (just a couple thoughts..) Then write it down, it is fascinating what you find out about yourself through reflection and the action of writing down those thoughts.
• Spanish...I love walking down the street and randomly hearing people converse in Spanish. (and yes there are still a bunch of Latinos here in DC) It just fills my heart with warm fuzzies. Funny story though: many people make fun of me for my Spanish-isms, voice inflection, accent, etc., but I guess it never occurred to me how much it affects my English until today when I said "you learn things new every day." Ummm...yeah that's not English. It totally sounded right to me (and still kinda does) until I thought about it. Spanish is just more efficient to my brain now. Don't laugh until you speak another language fluently. 
• Utah...yes one of my Joys lately has been Utah. I appreciate that almost everyone out here has some connection to Utah- either they went to school there, they have family there, they lived there, whatever it may be. Here, in DC of all places, ALL the Mormons have connections to Utah. So I admittedly have missed all the comforts and familiarities out there. And all my great people out there. I am definitely not in Utah anymore.
• People...I LOVE PEOPLE. I love talking to them, being around them, learning from them, learning about them. I appreciate listening to them very much, so if I ever ask you a question, PLEASE elaborately respond, and feel free to keep talking.
• diversity...i very much appreciate diversity in thought, culture, religion, language, nationality, etc. And I appreciate those who recognize it as a positive in this world.
• Parks...thanks to whoever invented urban parks. I very much appreciate having a place outside to sit and enjoy fresh air, sunshine, for a break when I'm stuck inside at a desk all day.

I just realized this is a long post, without even any pics to add length/content. So props to you if you are still reading. I don't have too much going on at work yet, so just chillin...and getting paid. 

why do i live in the city?

Yesterday went out to Shenandoah to hike in the "mountains." They are beautiful, but I will persist in referring to them as hills as the highest point was only 2890 feet. But it is WONDERFUL to get out of the hustle and bustle of DC and enjoy fresh air. We found a trail that lead down to a set of waterfalls, ending in a pool of water deep enough to swim in. We were enjoying the down-ward, rocky, yet manageable descent, when we realized we weren't even all the way to the bottom yet and we had to turn around and climb all the way back up at some point....so that's what we did. And it ended up being a very exhausting uphill return trip. But luckily it wasn't too hot under the canopy of the trees, and a cloud cover had shielded the sun almost the entire time we were on the trail. My calves are a bit tighter the day after, but other than that, no noticeable side effects. As we were driving back through the Park on our way out, the sun was shining through the trees over the road, sprinkling the air below, and dappling the road in spots of brightness. It was gorgeous.

By the way...I now know why they call them the Blue Ridge mountains...they actually do look blue in the haze of the hot, humid, summer air. Who'd a thunk? Very cool. I want to go out there every day. Sigh



Recent JOYs in my days to be grateful for:

• clouds...you never fully appreciate clouds until they shield you from glaring sun rays that make 100 degrees feel like 120 in humid conditions.
• laughter...I have recently been around awesome people that make me laugh. and I very much love to laugh.
• old friends...Sarah, my old roommate from BYU, was here from NYC for the holiday and it was simply fantastic to hang out with her for a few days. It was so refreshing to be around someone who already knew me, has a history with me, who I didn't need to explain anything to, and who I could just be myself around. Plus it helps that I love her and have a blast with her always.

• water...I have a fetish with water - rivers, waterfalls, oceans - you name it. Gotten to see beautiful forms of water lately. Happens a lot out here on the East Coast.
• health...I very much appreciate that my body is strong, (almost) fully functional, and healthy. Its not perfect (whose is?) but it works, and as long as I understand its needs and take care of it, it takes care of me.
• dresses...yep, went to the factory outlets and got a gorgeous new dress. on sale. I appreciate dresses that make me feel feminine without making me feel trashy or having to pull and tug or fix things in order to be comfortable. Most of the time I do enjoy being a woman.